San Marino

San Marino is a very small country.

It sits on a big rocky mountain. Italy is all around it. Its capital city is also called San Marino.

San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. It covers only about 61 square kilometers, and its longest side is about 13 kilometers. Italy surrounds it on every side.

The country sits on the slopes of Mount Titano, a big block of limestone. Its capital, also called San Marino, is perched high on the mountain, with old walls and fortress towers on the peaks. About 34,000 people live in San Marino, and they speak Italian. It is a republic, which means its leaders are chosen by the people instead of being kings or queens.

San Marino is a small, landlocked republic on the slopes of Mount Titano, on the Adriatic side of central Italy between the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche, and surrounded on all sides by Italy. Britannica calls it the smallest independent state in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco; it was also the smallest republic in the world until Nauru became independent in 1968.

The territory, about 61 km², is an irregular rectangle with a maximum length of 13 km from northeast to southwest. UNESCO describes it as one of the world's oldest republics and the only surviving Italian city-state, an important stage in the development of democratic models in Europe. About 34,000 people live there, and the official language is Italian. San Marino uses the euro even though it is not a member of the European Union.

The capital city is high on the mountain.

It has thick stone walls all around. Three towers stand on the mountain tops. A cable railway carries people up the hill.

The capital, San Marino city, sits high on the western side of Mount Titano and is surrounded by three rings of walls. Above it, three fortress towers crown the mountain's three peaks. Its old center, with towers, gates, a theater and the government palace, is a World Heritage Site.

Farther down the slope is Borgo Maggiore, which was the country's main market town for hundreds of years. There are no trains in San Marino, but a cable railway carries people from Borgo Maggiore up to the capital. Serravalle, with its old castle, is a farming and factory town.

UNESCO inscribed San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano in 2008: 55 ha including the mountain and the historic center, which dates from the republic's foundation as a city-state in the 13th century. It contains fortification towers, walls, gates and bastions, a 19th-century neoclassical basilica, 14th- and 16th-century convents, the 19th-century Palazzo Pubblico and the 18th-century Titano Theatre. UNESCO notes that its hilltop position spared it the urban changes of the industrial era, while restoration and reconstruction from the late 19th to the early 20th century, including works directed by Gino Zani, is now part of its history.

The capital stands on the western side of Mount Titano within triple walls. Borgo Maggiore, farther down, was for centuries the commercial center, and Serravalle, beneath a castle of the Malatesta family, is agricultural and industrial. These three towns hold nearly two-thirds of the population. There is no railroad; a cable railway links Borgo Maggiore with the capital, and the nearest main airport is at Rimini in Italy.

Mount Titano is a big mountain of limestone.

It has three tops. From up high, you can see far across the hills. Summers are warm, and winters can be cold.

Mount Titano rises to 739 meters. It is a huge block of limestone with three summits, and its outline, topped with fortresses, can be seen from many kilometers away. Hills spread out to the southwest, and to the northeast the land slopes gently down toward the flat Romagna plain and the Adriatic Sea.

The weather is mild. Summer days can reach about 26 °C, and on cold winter days it can drop to about −7 °C. Small streams run toward the Adriatic Sea. For centuries people cut stone from Mount Titano, until the good stone ran out.

The landscape is dominated by the central limestone mass of Mount Titano, 739 m high, whose three summits carry triple fortifications visible from many miles away. Hills spread to the southwest, while the northeast slopes gently toward the Romagna plain and the Adriatic coast. The Marano and Ausa streams flow to the Adriatic, and the San Marino stream joins the Marecchia River.

The climate is mild and temperate, with summer maximums of about 26 °C and winter lows of about −7 °C, and 560 to 800 mm of rain a year. Vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean zone, varying with elevation: olive, pine, oak, ash, poplar, fir and elm, with many grasses and flowers. Centuries of quarrying exhausted Mount Titano's stone and ended the stoneworking craft that depended on it, leaving the country without mineral resources.

Hedgehogs and foxes live in San Marino.

So do badgers, moles and hares. Lots of birds live there. Other birds stop to rest on their long trips.

San Marino is small, but it has plenty of wild animals. Hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, moles, martens, weasels and hares can all be found there.

Many kinds of birds live in San Marino all year, and many more pass through on their journeys, stopping on the way. Farm animals are important too: about three-quarters of the land is farmed, and dairying and raising livestock matter to many families.

Britannica lists moles, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, martens, weasels and hares among San Marino's wild mammals, alongside domestic and farmyard animals. Indigenous birds and birds of passage (migrants that stop on their way) are both plentiful.

About three-fourths of the land is under permanent cultivation, growing wheat, grapes and barley, and dairying and livestock remain important. The wild vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean zone, varying with elevation, and includes olive, pine, oak, ash, poplar, fir and elm, with many kinds of grasses and flowers.

About 34,000 people live in San Marino.

They speak Italian. Many visitors come to see it. Some people make stamps and pottery.

Most people in San Marino are citizens called Sammarinesi, and most of the rest are Italians. They speak Italian, and many also speak a local dialect related to the one spoken in the nearby Romagna region. Thousands of Sammarinesi live abroad, mainly in Italy, the United States, France and Argentina.

Tourism is the fastest-growing part of the economy. San Marino is also famous for printing postage stamps, and people make ceramics and wrought-iron crafts. Farmers grow wheat, grapes and barley. School is free, and children must attend until age 16.

Sammarinesi (citizens) make up more than four-fifths of the population and Italians most of the remainder, while thousands of citizens live abroad, chiefly in Italy, the United States, France and Argentina. Italian is the official language; a widely spoken dialect has been described as Celto-Gallic, akin to the dialects of Piedmont, Lombardy and Romagna. Nearly nine-tenths of citizens are Roman Catholic, though there is no official religion.

The economy rests on industry, tourism (the sector of greatest expansion), commerce, agriculture and crafts. Manufactures include electronics, paint, cosmetics, ceramics and clothing, and fine printing of postage stamps is a steady source of revenue; banking is vital. All electricity comes over the grid from Italy, the main trading partner. Education is free and compulsory to age 16, the University of San Marino was founded in 1985, and a public security force of about 50 people provides national defense.