There are nearly 200 nations that exist around the globe today.
Some of these countries are landlocked by their neighbors, while others are lucky enough
to boast beaches on one or more sides of their borders, and yet others stand alone as islands
surrounded wholly be the ocean around them.
But, not every independent nation fits into these categories.
That might seem odd, and yet, it’s true for some of the world’s smallest countries
to exist - such as the quaint little nation of San Marino…
San Marino is a roughly 24 square mile chunk of land known officially as the Republic of
San Marino or the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.
Despite its small size, there’s something else quite peculiar about the republic - and
that’s its geographic position.
San Marino is entirely trapped inside of Italy.
Not landlocked by Italy and other neighbors or Italy and the ocean - no, it is literally
smack dab in the middle of the independent and separate nation of Italy.
This is unusual for sure, and yet, San Marino has remained its own sovereign nation, apart
yet inside of Italy, for centuries.
How did this happen?
And why was San Marino even created?...
A priest, later known as Saint Marinus, is credited for founding San Marino on September
3, 301 AD.
He is believed to have left modern-day Croatia for the Italian city of Rimini and eventually
sought refuge in Monte Titano in response to the Diocletianic Persecution.
Once in Monte Titano, Marinus built a monastery and intended to remain in the area and live
the rest of his life as a hermit.
This is what is seen as the founding of both the Republic of San Marino and its capital
city of the same name.
At this time, and as San Marino subsequently developed into its own state - a safe haven
from the surrounding Roman Empire and persecution that Christians such as Marinus himself were
facing - the concept of such a small nation was actually not that unusual.
The maps that we have today and the borders we see encapsulating every nation are quite
big in comparison to some of the typical states of the earlier eras.
Not to mention, after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Italy as a whole
was no more than an amalgamation of small sovereign entities that made up the peninsula
around San Marino.
This means that San Marino looked on a map at that time, not much different in position
as what we see on maps today.
One state circled by a handful of neighbors.
But how did this change over time?..
During the feudal era, San Marino still didn’t stand out as odd in its surroundings and even
gained additional support.
For example, in 1320, the people of nearby Chiesanuova actually opted to join San Marino
and roughly a century later, the town of Faetano chose to do the same.
The latter’s decision was in response to support that San Marino had gained from Pope
Pius II, who gifted the budding state with holdings in Fiorentino, Serravalle, and Montegiardino.
But, San Marino’s life in the feudal era wasn’t all without danger.
There were two, almost three, individual periods where the modest state was actually occupied
by foreign militaries - though never for very long.
The first came in 1503 when the controversial son of the scandalous Borgia Pope, Cesare
Borgia, occupied San Marino for six months, but upon the death of the Borgia Pope Alexander
VI, his replacement, Pope Julius II, quickly withdrew Cesare and his troops.
The next occupation occurred in the last days of spring in 1543 when another relative to
a different pope - Pope Julius III’s nephew Fabiano di Monte San Savino - decided to invade
the harmless little nation in hopes of actually conquering it.
Somehow, in what the citizens of San Marino deemed a miracle, the approaching troops got
lost in dense fog and severely poor visibility.
The invaders eventually withdrew and saved San Marino from another occupation…but this
would only be a temporary taste of safety…
Despite a treaty being signed in 1602 in which Pope Clement VIII and San Marino hoped to
together protect the sovereignty of San Marino, the humble state was yet again attacked, this
time in 1739 by Cardinal Guilio Alberoni, the Papal Governor of Ravenna.
Not only did he invade and occupy San Marino, but he went so far as forcing the writing
of a new constitution and aimed to push the state into submission and crush its sovereignty.
Finally, as these actions were quite possibly in opposition to the wants of Pope Clement
XII, after three and a half months, the pope demanded that the independence of San Marino
be recognized and respected, freeing it from the Cardinal’s grasp and the final occupation
it would face for the decades to come…
As time went on, there were a few reasons why no one else put in much effort to end
San Marino’s existence as a nation.
In some cases, it was actually due to friendship above anything else.
The Napoleonic Era marked one of these situations when the Bishop of Rimini went on the run
after being accused of crimes against the French Empire.
When French General Alexandre Berthier sent a letter to the government of San Marino,
insisting that the bishop be arrested and handed over, the regent of San Marino, Antonio
Onofri, was in a tricky situation.
On one hand, he was hesitant to upset the Pope and his Papal States if the bishop were
to be seized.
But on the other hand, if he flat out said no to Napoleon, that would likely be the end
of San Marino’s sovereignty.
So, in a brilliant scheme to appease both sides, Onofri gave his full and passionate
support to Napoleon…while letting the bishop escape from San Marino’s borders.
And despite the fact that Napoleon was not given the accused bishop that he asked for
from Onofri, he actually grew to greatly like and admire the regent.
His appreciation for Onofri ended up being so deep that Napoleon reacted by promising
to respect and even defend the independence and sovereignty of San Marino, and he eventually
went so far as to offer more territory for the minuscule country.
Although they still hoped not to offend the French, the government of San Marino declined
the offer for additional land, and it is claimed that Antonio Onofri explained this by stating
that, “wars end, but neighbors remain”...
Still, those neighbors didn’t seem that keen on conquering San Marino anymore.
The state’s small, hilly geography simply made it often unappealing and not worth the
effort.
Not to mention, Napoleon wasn’t San Marino’s only friend.
The nation did a fair job at creating positive relationships with the global community within
its reach, including once again the contemporary pope.
This likely came in handy when San Marino’s most immediate neighbors in the global community
decided to unify around them…
One of the final largest challenges to San Marino’s freedom as a nation came with the
event of Italian Unification.
Hoping to avoid being glued together with the rest of the peninsula, when Italian Unification
leader Giuseppe Garibaldi sought refuge from the Austrians within San Marino, he was welcomed
in.
Despite angering the Austrians, San Marino may have saved its entire existence by making
this decision.
When the unified Kingdom of Italy finally was birthed, it was this aid that had been
given to Garibaldi that earned the little nation its continued liberty - and in turn,
earned Garibaldi honorary citizenship in San Marino.
After this, there was mostly smooth sailing for the now well-established republic.
The United States officially recognized San Marino in 1861, and it seemed for some time
that the threats to sovereignty had come to an end.
And while they mostly had, there would prove to be another rough period for the landlocked
nation when the first world war brought hostilities to San Marino’s doorstep.
As San Marino opted to remain neutral, Italy eventually entered the conflict and quickly
grew suspicious of their cocooned neighbor, who they thought may be secretly allowing
Austrian spies to enter San Marino in order to gain intelligence on Italy.
In what would apparently be enough to reassure the Italians, San Marino opted to enlist 10
citizens in the Italian Army but otherwise remain entirely neutral.
During the second world war, San Marino once again managed to skate by unharmed and unconquered.
This time, it was likely due to the fact that fascism had found its way to both Italy and
San Marino, meaning that the Sammarinese government was sympathetic to that of Italy’s Mussolini.
Although there were threats from the Germans and a short allied occupation, San Marino
came out overall unscathed yet again and maintained its independence once and for all…
In the modern era, San Marino still stands as its own sovereign nation, fully enclosed
by Italy, and has since become a member of the United Nations.
Today, San Marino’s existence is undeniable and unchallenged.
But, that doesn’t change the fact that in our modern world, the presence of such a tiny
nation in such an odd position, seems questionable.
So, why is San Marino a country?
Well, in part because it was founded at a time when such small states were not out of
the norm.
Additionally, because the Sammarinese were smart.
When the occasional foreigner did decide that their small, hilly republic was worth conquering,
the ability of the Sammarinese to create friendships and wiggle out of sticky situations saved
the day again and again.
And lastly, because the global attitude and unproblematic presence of the nation throughout
the centuries of its existence kept it out of the crosshairs that otherwise could have
wiped it off the map…