San Marino

According to accounts that were first recorded centuries after he is suggested to have lived, Saint Marinus left the island of Rab in present-day Croatia with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini as a stonemason. After the Diocletianic Persecution following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby mountain Monte Titano, where he built a small church and thereby founded what is now the city and state of San Marino. According to William Miller, these accounts of the origin of San Marino "are a mixture of fables and miracles, but perhaps contain some grains of fact". The earliest historical evidence for a monastic community in San Marino dates to the 5th or 6th century AD, when a monk named Eugippus recorded that another monk had lived in a monastery in the area.

In 1291, San Marino appealed to the Bishop of Arezzo, Ildebrandino Guidi di Romena, against the contribution demands by the Vicario del Montefeltro. Jurist Palamede di Rimini decided in favour of San Marino and recognised its tax exemption from tributes demands of Montefeltro. In 1296, when Guglielmo Durante was the governor of Romagna, Sammarinesi appealed to Pope Boniface VIII against the further requests by the Montefeltro podestas regarding tributes. Abbot Ranieri di Sant'Anastasio was assigned to judge the dispute. A long process was held using various witnesses and sources to determine San Marino tax exemption status. The verdict was probably in favour of the autonomy of San Marino, as later the State did not pay taxes to the Montefeltro.

In 1320, the community of Chiesanuova chose to join the country. In 1463, San Marino was enlarged by the inclusion of the communities of Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, and Serravalle; since then, the country's borders have remained unchanged. In 1503, Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI, occupied the Republic for six months until his father's successor, Pope Julius II, intervened and restored the country's independence. On 4 June 1543, Fabiano di Monte San Savino, nephew of the later Pope Julius III, attempted to conquer the republic, but his infantry and cavalry failed as they got lost in a dense fog, which the Sammarinesi attributed to Saint Quirinus, whose feast day it was.

After the Duchy of Urbino was annexed by the Papal States in 1625, San Marino became surrounded by the papal states. This led to it seeking the formal protection of the Papal States in 1631, but this never amounted to a de facto Papal control of the republic. The country was occupied on 17 October 1739 by the legate (Papal governor) of Ravenna, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, but independence was restored by Pope Clement XII on 5 February 1740, the feast day of Saint Agatha, after which she became a patron saint of the republic.

The advance of Napoleon's army in 1797 presented a brief threat to the independence of San Marino, but the country was saved from losing its liberty by one of its regents, Antonio Onofri, who managed to gain the respect and friendship of Napoleon. Due to Onofri's intervention, Napoleon promised in a letter to Gaspard Monge, a scientist and the commissary of the French Government for Science and Art, to guarantee and protect the independence of the Republic, even offering to extend its territory according to its needs. The offer was declined by the regents, fearing future retaliation from other states' revanchism.

During the later phase of the Italian unification process in the 19th century, San Marino served as a refuge for many people persecuted because of their support for unification, including Giuseppe Garibaldi and his wife Anita. Garibaldi allowed San Marino to remain independent. San Marino and the Kingdom of Italy signed a Convention of Friendship in 1862. The government of San Marino made United States President Abraham Lincoln an honorary citizen. He wrote in reply, saying that the republic proved that "government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring".

In March 1877, a new postal agreement allowed San Marino to issue the first stamps in representation of its own sovereignty, becoming a significant revenue source, showcasing national symbols like the Three Towers.

During World War I, when Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 24 May 1915, San Marino remained neutral and Italy adopted a hostile view of Sammarinese neutrality, suspecting that San Marino could harbour Austrian spies who could be given access to its new radiotelegraph station. Italy tried to forcibly establish a detachment of Carabinieri in the republic and then cut the republic's telephone lines when it did not acquiesce. Two groups of ten volunteers joined the Italian forces in the fighting on the Italian front, the first as combatants and the second as a medical corps operating a Red Cross field hospital. The existence of this hospital later caused Austria-Hungary to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino.

After the war, San Marino suffered from high rates of unemployment and inflation, leading to increased tension between the lower and middle classes. The latter, fearing that the moderate government of San Marino would make concessions to the lower class majority, began to show support for the Sammarinese Fascist Party (Partito Fascista Sammarinese, PFS), founded in 1922, and styled largely on their Italian counterpart. PFS rule lasted from 1923 to 1943, and during this time they often sought support from Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy. During World War II, San Marino remained neutral, although it was wrongly reported in an article in The New York Times that it had declared war on the United Kingdom on 17 September 1940. The Sammarinese government later transmitted a message to the British government stating that they had not actually declared war.

On 28 July 1943, three days after the fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, PFS rule collapsed and the new government declared neutrality in the conflict. The PFS regained power on 1 April 1944, but kept neutrality intact. On 26 June 1944, the bombing of San Marino happened. The country was bombed by four waves of Allied bombers under the incorrect belief that San Marino had been occupied by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunition. The Sammarinese government declared on the same day that no military installations or equipment were located on its territory, and that no belligerent forces had been allowed to enter. Nevertheless, smaller bombing raids continued until the 29th of August of that year, causing extensive damage to the city centre as well as the railway line connecting the country to nearby Rimini. San Marino accepted thousands of civilian refugees when Allied forces overran the Gothic Line. During World War II, San Marino temporarily became one of the most densely populated areas in Europe, as it provided refuge to approximately 100,000 people, primarily Italians fleeing nearby conflict, despite having a resident population of only around 15,000 at the time. In September 1944, it was briefly occupied by German forces, who were defeated by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino. Allied troops occupied San Marino for two months before departing.

San Marino had one of the world's earliest democratically elected communist-influenced governments, which was a coalition between the Sammarinese Communist Party and the Sammarinese Socialist Party that was in power between 1945 and 1957. The coalition lost power following the Rovereta affair. San Marino became a member of the Council of Europe in 1988 and of the United Nations in 1992. It is not a member of the European Union, although it uses the euro as its currency (despite not legally being part of the Eurozone). Before the introduction of the euro, the country's currency was the Sammarinese lira.

San Marino is an enclave surrounded by Italy in Southern Europe, almost entirely bordered by the province of Rimini in the Emilia Romagna region. Only a stretch of about three kilometres in the south is bordered by the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region. Located approximately ten kilometres (six miles) from the Adriatic coast near Rimini, San Marino features hilly terrain with little naturally flat ground, as part of the Apennine mountain range. The highest point in the country, the summit of Monte Titano, reaches 749 m (2,457 ft) above sea level, while the lowest point, the Ausa River (which flows into the Marecchia), is at 55 m (180 ft). San Marino has no significant still or contained bodies of water. It is one of only three countries in the world to be completely surrounded by one other country. It is the third-smallest country in Europe (after Vatican City and Monaco), and the fifth-smallest country in the world. The terrestrial ecoregion of Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests lies within San Marino's territory. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 0.01/10, ranking it last globally out of 172 countries.

San Marino has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), with some continental influences. It has warm to hot summers and cool winters, typical of inland areas of the central Italian Peninsula. Precipitation is scattered throughout the year with no real dry month. Snowfalls are common and heavy almost every winter, especially above 400–500 m (1,300–1,600 feet) of elevation.

San Marino has the political framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic: the captains regent are heads of state, and there is a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Although there is no formal head of government, the secretary for foreign and political affairs is in many ways equal to the prime minister in other countries. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Grand and General Council. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. San Marino is considered to have the earliest written governing documents still in effect, as the Statutes of 1600 are still at the core of its constitutional framework.

San Marino was originally led by the Arengo, initially formed from the heads of each family. In the 13th century, power was given to the Grand and General Council. In 1243, the first two captains regent were nominated by the council. Still today, Captains Regent are elected every six months by the council. The legislature of the republic is the Grand and General Council (Consiglio grande e generale). The council is a unicameral legislature with 60 members. There are elections every five years by proportional representation in all nine administrative districts. These districts (townships) correspond to the old parishes of the republic. All citizens 18 years or older are eligible to vote.

Besides general legislation, the Grand and General Council approves the budget and elects the captains regent, the Congress of State (composed of ten secretaries of state with executive power), the Council of Twelve, the Advising Commissions, and the Government Unions. The council also has the power to ratify treaties with other countries. The council is divided into five different Advising Commissions consisting of fifteen councilors who examine, propose, and discuss the implementation of new laws that are on their way to being presented on the floor of the council.

Every six months, the council elects two captains regent to be the heads of state. The captains are chosen from opposing parties so that there is a balance of power. They serve a six-month term. The investiture of the captains regent takes place on 1 April and 1 October in every year. Once this term is over, citizens have three days in which to file complaints about the captains' activities. If they warrant it, judicial proceedings against the ex-head(s) of state can be initiated.

The practice of having two heads of state chosen in frequent elections is derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic. The council is equivalent to the Roman Senate; the captains regent, to the consuls of ancient Rome. It is thought the inhabitants of the area came together as Roman rule collapsed to form a rudimentary government for their own protection from foreign rule.

San Marino is a multi-party democratic republic. A new election law in 2008 raised the threshold for small parties entering Parliament, causing political parties to organise themselves into two alliances: the right-wing Pact for San Marino, led by the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party; and the left-wing Reforms and Freedom, led by the Party of Socialists and Democrats, a merger of the Socialist Party of San Marino and the former communist Party of Democrats. The 2008 general election was won by the Pact for San Marino with 35 seats in the Grand and General Council against the Reforms and Freedom party's 25.

On 1 October 2007, Mirko Tomassoni was elected as captain regent, making him the first person with disability elected to that office. San Marino has had more female heads of state than any other country: 15 as of October 2014, including three who served twice. On 1 April 2022, 58-year-old Paolo Rondelli was elected as one of the two captains regent. He had previously been the Ambassador to the United States and is the world's first openly gay head of state.

San Marino is geographically divided into nine castelli (lit. 'castles', equivalent to a municipality), each of which contains a capital (capoluogo), with other population centres sorted into curazie (equivalent to Italian frazioni). Each castello is led by a Castle Captain (Italian: Capitano di Castello) and a Castle Council (Giunta di Castello), elected every five years. The nine castelli are the City of San Marino, which is San Marino's capital city, Acquaviva, Borgo Maggiore, Chiesanuova, Domagnano, Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, and Serravalle.

San Marino's 44 curazie are Cà Berlone, Cà Chiavello, Cà Giannino, Cà Melone, Cà Ragni, Cà Rigo, Cailungo (di Sopra and di Sotto), Caladino, Calligaria, Canepa, Capanne, Casole, Castellaro, Cerbaiola, Cinque Vie, Confine, Corianino, Crociale, Dogana, Falciano, Fiorina, Galavotto, Gualdicciolo, La Serra, Lesignano, Molarini, Montalbo, Monte Pulito, Murata, Pianacci, Piandivello, Poggio Casalino, Poggio Chiesanuova, Ponte Mellini, Rovereta, San Giovanni sotto le Penne, Santa Mustiola, Spaccio Giannoni, Teglio, Torraccia, Valdragone (di Sopra and di Sotto), Valgiurata, and Ventoso.

San Marino's military forces are among the smallest in the world. National defence is, by arrangement, the responsibility of Italy's armed forces. Different branches have varied functions, including performing ceremonial duties, patrolling borders, mounting guard at government buildings, and assisting police in major criminal cases. The police are not included in the military of San Marino.

Once at the heart of San Marino's army, the Crossbow Corps is now a ceremonial force of approximately 80 volunteers. Since 1295, the Crossbow Corps has provided demonstrations of crossbow shooting at festivals. Its uniform design is medieval. While still a statutory military unit, the Crossbow Corps has no military function today.

The Guard of the Rock is a front-line military unit in the San Marino armed forces, a state border patrol, with responsibility for patrolling borders and defending them. In their role as Fortress Guards they are responsible for guarding the Palazzo Pubblico in San Marino City, the seat of national government. In this role they are the forces most visible to tourists and are known for their colourful ceremony of Changing the Guard. Under the 1987 statute the Guard of the Rock are all enrolled as "Criminal Police Officers" (in addition to their military role) and assist the police in investigating major crime. The uniform of the Guard of the Rock is a distinctive red and green.

The Guard of the Grand and General Council commonly known as The Guard of the council or locally as the "Guard of Nobles", formed in 1741, is a volunteer unit with ceremonial duties. Due to its striking blue, white, and gold uniform, it is perhaps the best-known part of the Sammarinese military, and appears on countless postcard views of the republic. The functions of the Guard of the council are to protect the captains regent, and to defend the Grand and General Council during its formal sessions. They also act as ceremonial bodyguards to government officials at both state and church festivals.

In former times, all families with two or more adult male members were required to enroll half of them in the Company of Uniformed Militia. This unit remains the basic fighting force of the armed forces of San Marino, but is largely ceremonial. It is a matter of civic pride for many Sammarinese to belong to the force, and all citizens with at least six years' residence in the republic are entitled to enroll. The uniform is dark blue, with a kepi bearing a blue and white plume. The ceremonial form of the uniform includes a white cross-strap, and white and blue sash, white epaulets, and white decorated cuffs.

Formally this is part of the Army Militia, and is the ceremonial military band of San Marino. It consists of approximately 60 musicians. The uniform is similar to that of the Army Militia. Military Ensemble music accompanies most state occasions in the republic.

Established in 1842, the Gendarmerie of San Marino is a militarised law enforcement agency. Its members are full-time and have responsibility for the protection of citizens and property, and the preservation of law and order. The entire military corps of San Marino depends upon the co-operation of full-time forces and their retained (volunteer) colleagues, known as the Corpi Militari Volontari, or Voluntary Military Force. The local law enforcement personnel are supported by Interpol. The Interpol support focuses on organized crime and terrorism. The Interpol offices are located in the Headquarters of the Gendarmerie.

San Marino is a developed country, and although it is not a European Union member it is allowed to use the euro as its currency by arrangement with the Council of the European Union; it is also granted the right to use its own designs on the national side of the euro coins.It is one of six sovereign nations that use the Euro but are not part of the EU. The other nations are Kosovo, Monaco, Andorra, Vatican City, and Montenegro. Before the euro, the Sammarinese lira was pegged to, and exchangeable with, the Italian lira. The small number of Sammarinese euro coins, as was the case with the lira before it, are of interest to coin collectors. San Marino's GDP per capita and standard of living are comparable to that of Italy. Key industries include banking, electronics, and ceramics. The main agricultural products are wine and cheese. San Marino imports staple goods, mainly from Italy.

San Marino's postage stamps, which are valid for mail posted in the country, are mostly sold to philatelists and are a significant source of income. San Marino is no longer a member of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation. It has the world's highest rate of car ownership, being one of only a handful of countries with more vehicles than people. The average is 1.6 cars per person, which includes children.

San Marino and Italy have engaged in conventions since 1862, dictating some economic activities in San Marino's territory. Cultivation of tobacco and production of goods which are subject to Italy's government monopoly are forbidden in San Marino. Direct import is forbidden; all goods coming from a third country have to travel through Italy before reaching the country. Although it is allowed to print its own postal stamps, San Marino is not allowed to coin its own currency and is obliged to use Italy's mint; the agreement does not affect the right of the Republic of San Marino to continue to issue gold coins denominated in Scudi (the legal value of 1 gold Scudo is 37.50 euros). Gambling is legal and regulated; however, casinos were outlawed prior to 2007. There is one legally operating casino.

In exchange for these limitations, Italy provides San Marino with an annual stipend, provided at cost, of sea salt (not more than 250 tonnes per year), tobacco (40 tonnes), cigarettes (20 tonnes) and matches (unlimited number). At the border there are no formalities with Italy. However, at the tourist office visitors can purchase officially cancelled souvenir stamps for their passports.

San Marino offers a competitive tax environment designed to attract investment and support economic development. The standard corporate income tax (Imposta Generale sui Redditi, IGR) rate is 17%. However, new businesses benefit from a reduced rate of 8.5% for the first five years of operation, provided they meet specific employment criteria, such as hiring at least one employee within six months and a second within 24 months of starting operations. Innovative startups participating in San Marino's innovation programmes are eligible for further tax incentives:

0% corporate tax for the first three years.

4% for the subsequent four years.

8% for the following five years.

San Marino employs a progressive personal income tax system, with rates ranging from 9% to 35%:

9% for income up to €10,000.

13% for income between €10,001 and €25,000.

35% for income above €25,000.

The personal income tax was introduced in 1984 and underwent significant reforms in 2013 to enhance fiscal revenue. San Marino imposes withholding taxes on various forms of income:

5% on dividends paid to individuals.

13% on interest payments.

20% on royalties paid to non-residents.

San Marino does not implement a traditional value-added tax (VAT) system. Instead, it applies a single-stage import tax known as "imposta monofase," levied at a standard rate of 17% on the importation cost of goods. This tax is applied only once at the point of importation and does not extend to services. Under the customs union agreement with the European Union, this import tax is considered equivalent to the EU's VAT system.

To encourage investment, San Marino offers several tax incentives:

Dividends received by non-resident companies are 95% exempt from taxation, provided the participation has been held continuously for at least twelve months.

Investments in capital goods or real estate can lead to a reduction in taxable income by up to 90%.

Because San Marino's tax rate is lower than surrounding Italy's, many businesses choose to be based in San Marino to avoid the higher rates. San Marino boasts a corporate rate 14.5% lower than Italy (23%) and 12.5% lower than the EU average (21.3%). This has made San Marino the tax haven of choice for many wealthy Italians and businesses.