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…
