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SAN MARINO
Location - Western Europe; Capital - San Marino; Population - 31,000; Currency - Euro
From Rimini in Italy it's a short coach ride to the principality of San Marino, the capital of which has a great location on the top of 755 metre Mount Titano - May 2010.
San Marino uses the Euro.
It produces it's own Euro coins, which are on sale for higher than their value in the tourist shops.
Euro notes aren't specific to each member state but the coins are. This is an San Marino 1 Euro coin
A gorgeous view of the first tower, or Guaita Fortress, overlooking the Sammarinese town of Borgo Maggiore - San Marino
The lights can be seen all the way to Rimini on Italy's Adriatic coast - San Marino
The second tower, or Cesta Fortress, rests on the top of Mount Titano - San Marino
The Basilica of Saint Marinus (or San Marino) - San Marino
The old town of San Marino
The first tower - Guaita Fortress - dates back to the 11th century - San Marino
Restoration of the Guaita Fortress revealed 19th century prisoners' graffiti on the walls - San Marino
Guaita Fortress and the Italian plains below - San Marino
Guaita Fortress, built on Mount Titano, San Marino
Guaita Fortress stands above the Sammarinense town of Borgo Maggiore. Further away is the Adriatic coast - San Marino
A rather angry-looking creature welcomes you to the vampire museum, San Marino
Check out the second tower - Cesta Fortress - from the first tower - San Marino
Cesta Fortress dates to the 13th century - San Marino
Inside the Cesta Fortress, which is also home to the Museum of Hisorical Weapons - San Marino
The third tower, Montale Fortress, can just about be seen here from the second tower - San Marino
The third and final tower, Montale Fortress, operated as a warning tower - San Marino
There's loads of souvenir shops in San Marino and it gets busy in the day, but I enjoyed it, with its superb views of the plains below - San Marino
And at night the capital is eerily empty. Buses and the cable-car (funivia) closed at 20:00 so I walked down to my hostel in Borgo Maggiore. In the high season, July and August, transport goes on 'til much later so there should be more life at night - San Marino
Guards march the empty capital's streets - San Marino
A stunning view from one of the open-air restaurants near the first tower - San Marino
A square in San Marino's old town
More of the historic old town - San Marino
Guards outside a government building - San Marino
Giardino del Liburni - San Marino
The quiet backstreets of San Marino
Negotiating the many slopes and steps of the old town - San Marino
The Public Palace above the plains - San Marino
The Sammarinese flag flies above the Public Palace - San Marino
The Public Palace from top to bottom - San Marino
The Piazza della Liberta is the square in front of the Palazzo Pubblico (Public Palace) - San Marino
The Public Palace is where the government convenes, as it did on this particular day, which meant that it was closed to the public - San Marino
One of the Guardia di Rocca, or Fortress Guards, stands outside the Public Palace.
In the high season there's an hourly Changing of the Guard ceremony - San Marino.
Watching the sunlight pierce the clouds from the Piazza della Liberta, San Marino
By early evening the coachloads of tourists had left, leaving a few stalwarts and locals in the old town - San Marino
Get these views standing next to the cable-car to Borgo Maggiore - San Marino
On the cable-car (funivia) to Borgo Maggiore
The roofs of Borgo Maggiore's old town
The three fortresses of San Marino (third tower on the left, first tower on the right) stand imposingly on Mount Titano, as seen from Borgo Maggiore
The old town of Borgo Maggiore, with cable-car leading to the capital
The lights shine on Guaita Fortress - Borgo Maggiore
Montale and Cesta fortresses on a rainswept and misty evening - Borgo Maggiore
My YouTube video of the chiming fortress bells and Mount Titano
Montale Fortress, from the slopes of Mount Titano at Borgo Maggiore
'We are Sammarinese' - a poster at Borgo Maggiore
Just outside the Piazza Grande, Borgo Maggiore
An angel hovers outside a boutique in Serravalle
Steps lead up to Serravalle's clocktower
Write-ups indicate this is Serravalle castle but a local told me the castle has gone, and this is just a clocktower
There's good views of Mount Titano and San Marino's fortresses from Serravalle
The streets of Serravalle's old town
There's not a lot to see in Domagnano
But on a clear day it has some of the best views of Mount Titano and the fortresses - Domagnano
Nature takes over - Domagnano
The Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary, on the outskirts of Valdragone
A statue in the Sanctuary grounds stands in front of Mount Titano - Valdragone
The main square in Faetano
The Casa del Castello, Faetano
Another rainy, misty day - Faetano
There's not many attractions outside the capital, but if you have time Borgo Maggiore and Serravalle are my picks - Faetano
The now defunct San Marino Grand Prix wasn't held in San Marino but at nearby Imola, in Italy. If you take the train from Bologna to Rimini you'll pass Imola's train station.
Website and content Copyright © 2008-2018 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.
LINKS
www.visitsanmarino.com - San Marino tourist board
I am not responsible for the content of external websites.
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