History of San Marino
Encyclopedia
The history of San Marino is both very European and typical for the Italian Peninsula
, and yet helps explain its unusual characteristics as the sole remaining Italian city-state
.
San Marino
is the only surviving Italian city-state. Like Andorra
, Liechtenstein
and Monaco
, it appears an anachronism
, a reminder of the times when Europe — particularly Germany, Italy and the Pyrenees — was made up of tiny political units, sometimes extending no further than a cannon could fire from a city’s walls. Along with Vatican City
and Lesotho
it is one of the three states completely surrounded by a single other country. San Marino proudly asserts its independence and various treaties of friendship have been signed with Italy since the latter’s unification.
stonemason named Marinus the Dalmatian, later venerated as Saint Marinus
, emigrated in 257 AD from the Dalmatia
n island of Rab
, then a Roman colony, when the emperor Diocletian
issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini
which had been destroyed by Liburnian
pirates. Finding persecution of his Christian beliefs, Marinus hid on the peak of Mount Titano (the highest of San Marino's seven hills) and founded a small community following Christian beliefs. The owner of the land, Felicissima, a sympathetic lady of Rimini, bequeathed it to the small Christian community of mountain dwellers, recommending to them to remain always united.
It is certain that the region has been inhabited since prehistoric times, although evidence of the existence of a community on Mount Titano dates back only to the Middle Ages
. That evidence comes from a monk named Eugippio, who reports in several documents going back to 511 that another monk lived here. In memory of the stonecutter, the land was renamed "Land of San Marino", and was finally changed to its present-day name, "Republic of San Marino".
Later papers from the 9th century report a well organized, open and proud community: the writings report that the bishop ruled this territory.
In the Lombard
age, San Marino was a fief of the dukes of Spoleto
, but the free comune
dates to the tenth century.
The original government structure was composed of a self-governed assembly known as the Arengo, which consisted of the heads of each family (as in the original Roman Senate
, the Patres). In 1243, the positions of Captains Regent () were established to be the joint heads of state. The state's earliest statutes date back to 1263. The Holy See
confirmed the independence of San Marino in 1291.
San Marino has had a long standing of neutrality, preceding that of Switzerland
by several centuries.
the lords of Montefeltro
, the Malatesta of Rimini
, and the lords of Urbino
attempted to conquer the little town, but without success. The land area of San Marino consisted only of Mount Titano until 1463, at which time the republic entered into an alliance against Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, duke of Rimini, who was later defeated. As a result, Pope Pius II
gave San Marino some castles and the towns of Fiorentino
, Montegiardino
and Serravalle. Later that year, the town of Faetano joined the republic on its own accord. Since then, the size of San Marino has remained unchanged.
San Marino adopted its written constitution
on October 8, 1600. San Marino still faced many potential threats. Thus a treaty of protection was signed in 1602 with Pope Clement VIII
, which came into force in 1631.
San Marino has been occupied by foreign militaries three times in its history, each for only a short period of time. Two of these periods were in the feudal era. In 1503, Cesare Borgia
occupied the republic until his death several months later. On October 17, 1739, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni
, legate (papal governor) of Ravenna
who in 1739, aiding certain rebels, possibly contrary to the orders of Pope Clement XII
, used military force to occupy the country, imposed a new constitution, and endeavored to force the Sanmarinesi to submit to the government of the Papal States
. However, civil disobedience
was used to protest this, and clandestine notes sent to the Pope to obtain justice were answered by papal recognition of San Marino's rights, which restored them to independence.
completed his conquest of Northern Italy and began to push his armies towards the edges of the northern territories of the Papal State, San Marino found itself forced to choose between maintaining the alliance with the Papal State or creating a new one with France. An alliance could have meant the loss of its liberty so a prudent course of action was taken: not to take sides until it became inevitable.
San Marino finally had to make a choice on February 5, 1797, when, with the arrival of a letter from General Louis Alexandre Berthier
addressed to the Regents, it was required to arrest and consign the Bishop of Rimini, Monsignor Vincenzo Ferretti, accused of instigating crimes against the French, who fled with all his possessions to San Marino. A refusal would have resulted in the immediate intervention of French troops.
The Government of San Marino replied that it would do everything possible to fulfill the request, even though, in reality, the bishop was able to flee across the border.
A solution was found by one of the Regents, Antonio Onofri, who managed to gain the respect and friendship of Napoleon. Thanks to his intervention, Napoleon, with a letter delivered to Gasparre Monge, scientist and commissary of the French Government for Science and Art, promised to guarantee and protect the independence of the Republic offering to extend its territory according to its needs. The offer was declined by San Marino, in fear of future vindications on the territories annexed, which would threaten San Marino's independence.
Napoleon issued orders that exempted San Marino's citizens from any type of taxation and gifted them with 1,000 quintal
s (over 2,200 lb or 1,000 kg) of wheat and four cannons, which, for reasons unknown, never arrived.
The state was recognized by Napoleon by the Treaty of Tolentino
, in 1797 and by the Congress of Vienna
in 1815. In 1825 and 1853, new attempts to submit it to the Papal States
failed; and its wish to be left out of Giuseppe Garibaldi
's Italian unification
in the mid-nineteenth century was granted, since it had offered a safe refuge to numerous supporters of unification in earlier years.
, the government of San Marino wrote a letter (in "perfect Italian on one side, and imperfect but clear English on the other") to United States
President Abraham Lincoln
, proposing an "alliance" between the two democratic nations and offering the President honorary San Marino citizenship. Lincoln accepted the offer, writing (with his Secretary of State
, William H. Seward
) in reply that San Marino proved that "government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring." Presaging a theme he would bring to the fore, using similar language, in his Gettysburg Address
in 1863, Lincoln wrote: “You have kindly adverted to the trial through which this Republic is now passing. It is one of deep import. It involves the question whether a Representative republic, extended and aggrandized so much as to be safe against foreign enemies can save itself from the dangers of domestic faction. I have faith in a good result...."
After the unification of the Kingdom of Italy
a treaty in 1862 confirmed San Marino's independence. It was revised in 1872.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, San Marino experienced economic depression: a large increase in the birth rate coupled with a widening of the gap between agricultural and industrial development led people to seek their fortunes in more industrialised countries.
The Sammarinese first sought seasonal employment in Tuscany, Rome, Genoa and Trieste, but in the latter half of the century whole families were uprooted, with the first permanent migrations to the Americas (United States, Argentina and Uruguay) and to Greece, Germany and Austria.
This phenomenon lasted up to the 1970s, with a pause during the First World War and an increase during the Fascist period in Italy. Even today there are still large concentrations of San Marino citizens residing in foreign countries, above all, in the United States, in France and in Argentina. There are more than 15,000 San Marino citizens spread throughout the world.
An important turning-point in the political and social life of the country took place on March 25, 1906, when the Arengo met; out of 1,054 heads of family 805 were present.
Each head of family received a ballot which contained two questions: the first asking if the Government of San Marino should be headed by a Principal and Sovereign Council, and the second, if the number of members of the Council should be proportionate between the city population and the rural population. This was the first move towards a referendum and true democracy in San Marino. In the past, similar attempts were made by people such as Pietro Franciosi, but without results. In the same year a second referendum took place on May 5 dealing with the first electoral laws and on June 10 the first political elections in San Marino's history resulted in an overwhelming victory of the exponents of democracy.
on its territory and then suspended any telephone connections with the Republic when it did not comply.
Two groups of 10 volunteers each did join 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
. It was the presence of this hospital that later caused Austrian authorities to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino.
Although propaganda articles appeared in the New York Times as early as 4 June 1915 claiming that San Marino declared war on Austria–Hungary, the republic never entered the war.
, culminating in June 1921 in the murder in Serravalle
of Italian doctor and Fascist sympathiser Carlo Bosi by local leftists, which led to condemnation by the surrounding Italian population and threats of retaliation by Italian squadristi
. The government decided to ask Italy for help in the form of a detachment of 30 Carabinieri.
As in Italy, Fascism eventually took over government of the Republic, the Sammarinese Fascist Party
causing the Socialist newspaper Nuovo Titano to cease publication.
The 1930s was an era of public works and reinvention of the Republic's economy, with the construction of the San Marino-Rimini railway that connected it to the Italian railway network and modernization of the country's infrastructures that paved the way to its present status as a major tourist destination.
On 26 June 1944, it was bombed by the British Royal Air Force
which mistakenly believed it had been overrun by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunitions. The railway was destroyed and 63 civilians died during the operation. The British government later admitted the bombing had been unjustified and that it had been executed on receipt of erroneous information.
San Marino's hope to escape further involvement was shattered on 27 July 1944 when Major Gunther, commander of the German forces in Forlì
, delivered a letter from German headquarters in Ferrara
to San Marino's government declaring that the country's sovereignty could not be respected if, in view of military requirements, the necessity of transit of troops and vehicles arose. The communiqué, however, underlined that wherever possible occupation would be avoided.
Fears were confirmed when on 30 July a German medical corps colonel presented himself with an order for the requisition of two public buildings for the establishment of a military hospital. On the following day, 31 July 1944, in view of the likely invasion by German forces, the state sent three letters of protest: one to Joachim von Ribbentrop
, German Foreign Minister, one to Adolf Hitler
and one to Benito Mussolini
, the latter delivered by a delegation to Serafino Mazzolini
, a high-ranking diplomat in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Demanding to meet Mussolini with the intention to ask that its neutrality be respected, the following day Mazzolini took them to see Mussolini, who promised to contact the German authorities and intervene in favour of San Marino's request.
San Marino was a refuge for over civilians who sought safety on the passing of Allied forces over the Gothic Line
during the Battle of Rimini
, an enormous effort of relief by the inhabitants of a country that at that time counted only 15,000 people.
Despite all this, the Germans and Allies clashed on San Marino's soil in late September 1944 at the Battle of Monte Pulito; Allied troops occupied San Marino after that, but only stayed for two months before returning the Republic's sovereignty.
, in coalition with the San Marinese Socialist Party
) through democratic elections. The coalition lasted from 1945 to 1957, when the fatti di Rovereta
occurred.
Women gained voting rights in 1960. Having joined the Council of Europe
as a full member in 1988, San Marino held the rotating chair of the organisation during the first half of 1990.
San Marino became a member of the United Nations
in 1992. In 2002 it signed a treaty with the OECD
, agreeing to greater transparency in banking and taxation matters to help combat tax evasion
.
Italian Peninsula
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...
, and yet helps explain its unusual characteristics as the sole remaining Italian city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
.
San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
is the only surviving Italian city-state. Like Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
and Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, it appears an anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
, a reminder of the times when Europe — particularly Germany, Italy and the Pyrenees — was made up of tiny political units, sometimes extending no further than a cannon could fire from a city’s walls. Along with Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
and Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
it is one of the three states completely surrounded by a single other country. San Marino proudly asserts its independence and various treaties of friendship have been signed with Italy since the latter’s unification.
Origins
San Marino, the world's fifth-smallest state, claims to be the world's oldest republic. According to tradition, San Marino was founded in 301 AD when a ChristianChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
stonemason named Marinus the Dalmatian, later venerated as Saint Marinus
Saint Marinus
Saint Marinus was the founder of the world's oldest surviving republic, San Marino, in 301. Tradition holds that he was a stonemason by trade who came from the island of Rab on the other side of the Adriatic Sea , fleeing persecution for his Christian beliefs in the Diocletianic Persecution...
, emigrated in 257 AD from the Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n island of Rab
Rab
Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
, then a Roman colony, when the emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
which had been destroyed by Liburnian
Liburnians
The Liburnians were an ancient Illyrian tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers Arsia and Titius in what is now Croatia....
pirates. Finding persecution of his Christian beliefs, Marinus hid on the peak of Mount Titano (the highest of San Marino's seven hills) and founded a small community following Christian beliefs. The owner of the land, Felicissima, a sympathetic lady of Rimini, bequeathed it to the small Christian community of mountain dwellers, recommending to them to remain always united.
It is certain that the region has been inhabited since prehistoric times, although evidence of the existence of a community on Mount Titano dates back only to the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. That evidence comes from a monk named Eugippio, who reports in several documents going back to 511 that another monk lived here. In memory of the stonecutter, the land was renamed "Land of San Marino", and was finally changed to its present-day name, "Republic of San Marino".
Later papers from the 9th century report a well organized, open and proud community: the writings report that the bishop ruled this territory.
In the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
age, San Marino was a fief of the dukes of Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
, but the free comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
dates to the tenth century.
The original government structure was composed of a self-governed assembly known as the Arengo, which consisted of the heads of each family (as in the original Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, the Patres). In 1243, the positions of Captains Regent () were established to be the joint heads of state. The state's earliest statutes date back to 1263. The Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
confirmed the independence of San Marino in 1291.
San Marino has had a long standing of neutrality, preceding that of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
by several centuries.
During the feudal era
Montefeltro
thumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...
, the Malatesta of Rimini
Malatesta
Malatesta may refer to:*The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century*Errico Malatesta , an Italian anarchist*Malatesta , a 1970 German film...
, and the lords of Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
attempted to conquer the little town, but without success. The land area of San Marino consisted only of Mount Titano until 1463, at which time the republic entered into an alliance against Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, duke of Rimini, who was later defeated. As a result, Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
gave San Marino some castles and the towns of Fiorentino
Fiorentino
Fiorentino is one of the 9 communes or "castelli" of the Republic of San Marino. It has 2 245 inhabitants in an area of 6.57 km².- Geography :...
, Montegiardino
Montegiardino
Montegiardino is one of the 9 communes or "castelli" of San Marino. It has 818 inhabitants in an area of 3.31 km².-Geography:...
and Serravalle. Later that year, the town of Faetano joined the republic on its own accord. Since then, the size of San Marino has remained unchanged.
San Marino adopted its written constitution
Constitution of San Marino
The Constitution of San Marino is distributed over a number of legislative instruments of which the most significant are the Statutes of 1600 and the Declaration of Citizen Rights of 1974 as amended in 2002. The constitutional system has influences from the Corpus Juris Civilis and Roman customary...
on October 8, 1600. San Marino still faced many potential threats. Thus a treaty of protection was signed in 1602 with Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...
, which came into force in 1631.
San Marino has been occupied by foreign militaries three times in its history, each for only a short period of time. Two of these periods were in the feudal era. In 1503, Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
occupied the republic until his death several months later. On October 17, 1739, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni
Giulio Alberoni
Giulio Alberoni was an Italian cardinal andstatesman in the service of Philip V of Spain.-Early years:He was born near Piacenza, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola d'Arda in the Duchy of Parma....
, legate (papal governor) of Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
who in 1739, aiding certain rebels, possibly contrary to the orders of Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII
Pope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...
, used military force to occupy the country, imposed a new constitution, and endeavored to force the Sanmarinesi to submit to the government of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. However, civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
was used to protest this, and clandestine notes sent to the Pope to obtain justice were answered by papal recognition of San Marino's rights, which restored them to independence.
Napoleonic Wars
When French emperor Napoleon INapoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
completed his conquest of Northern Italy and began to push his armies towards the edges of the northern territories of the Papal State, San Marino found itself forced to choose between maintaining the alliance with the Papal State or creating a new one with France. An alliance could have meant the loss of its liberty so a prudent course of action was taken: not to take sides until it became inevitable.
San Marino finally had to make a choice on February 5, 1797, when, with the arrival of a letter from General Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...
addressed to the Regents, it was required to arrest and consign the Bishop of Rimini, Monsignor Vincenzo Ferretti, accused of instigating crimes against the French, who fled with all his possessions to San Marino. A refusal would have resulted in the immediate intervention of French troops.
The Government of San Marino replied that it would do everything possible to fulfill the request, even though, in reality, the bishop was able to flee across the border.
A solution was found by one of the Regents, Antonio Onofri, who managed to gain the respect and friendship of Napoleon. Thanks to his intervention, Napoleon, with a letter delivered to Gasparre Monge, scientist and commissary of the French Government for Science and Art, promised to guarantee and protect the independence of the Republic offering to extend its territory according to its needs. The offer was declined by San Marino, in fear of future vindications on the territories annexed, which would threaten San Marino's independence.
Napoleon issued orders that exempted San Marino's citizens from any type of taxation and gifted them with 1,000 quintal
Quintal
Quintal may refer to:* Quintal , a unit of mass* Quartal and quintal harmony in music* Quintal, Haute-Savoie, a commune of the Haute-Savoie département in France* Stéphane Quintal, NHL ice hockey player...
s (over 2,200 lb or 1,000 kg) of wheat and four cannons, which, for reasons unknown, never arrived.
The state was recognized by Napoleon by the Treaty of Tolentino
Treaty of Tolentino
The Treaty of Tolentino was signed after nine months of negotiations between France and the Papal States on February 19, 1797. It was part of the events following the invasion of Italy in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars...
, in 1797 and by the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1815. In 1825 and 1853, new attempts to submit it to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
failed; and its wish to be left out of Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
's Italian unification
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
in the mid-nineteenth century was granted, since it had offered a safe refuge to numerous supporters of unification in earlier years.
19th century
In the spring of 1861, shortly before the beginning of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the government of San Marino wrote a letter (in "perfect Italian on one side, and imperfect but clear English on the other") to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, proposing an "alliance" between the two democratic nations and offering the President honorary San Marino citizenship. Lincoln accepted the offer, writing (with his Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
) in reply that San Marino proved that "government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring." Presaging a theme he would bring to the fore, using similar language, in his Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
in 1863, Lincoln wrote: “You have kindly adverted to the trial through which this Republic is now passing. It is one of deep import. It involves the question whether a Representative republic, extended and aggrandized so much as to be safe against foreign enemies can save itself from the dangers of domestic faction. I have faith in a good result...."
After the unification of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
a treaty in 1862 confirmed San Marino's independence. It was revised in 1872.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, San Marino experienced economic depression: a large increase in the birth rate coupled with a widening of the gap between agricultural and industrial development led people to seek their fortunes in more industrialised countries.
The Sammarinese first sought seasonal employment in Tuscany, Rome, Genoa and Trieste, but in the latter half of the century whole families were uprooted, with the first permanent migrations to the Americas (United States, Argentina and Uruguay) and to Greece, Germany and Austria.
This phenomenon lasted up to the 1970s, with a pause during the First World War and an increase during the Fascist period in Italy. Even today there are still large concentrations of San Marino citizens residing in foreign countries, above all, in the United States, in France and in Argentina. There are more than 15,000 San Marino citizens spread throughout the world.
An important turning-point in the political and social life of the country took place on March 25, 1906, when the Arengo met; out of 1,054 heads of family 805 were present.
Each head of family received a ballot which contained two questions: the first asking if the Government of San Marino should be headed by a Principal and Sovereign Council, and the second, if the number of members of the Council should be proportionate between the city population and the rural population. This was the first move towards a referendum and true democracy in San Marino. In the past, similar attempts were made by people such as Pietro Franciosi, but without results. In the same year a second referendum took place on May 5 dealing with the first electoral laws and on June 10 the first political elections in San Marino's history resulted in an overwhelming victory of the exponents of democracy.
World War I
While Italy declared war on Austria–Hungary on 23 May 1915, San Marino remained neutral. Italy, suspecting that San Marino could harbour Austrian spies who could be given access to its new radiotelegraph station, tried to forcefully establish a detachment of CarabinieriCarabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
on its territory and then suspended any telephone connections with the Republic when it did not comply.
Two groups of 10 volunteers each did join 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
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
. It was the presence of this hospital that later caused Austrian authorities to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino.
Although propaganda articles appeared in the New York Times as early as 4 June 1915 claiming that San Marino declared war on Austria–Hungary, the republic never entered the war.
Inter-war Period
San Marino in the 1920s, still a largely agrarian society, experienced political turmoil influenced by the events in Fascist ItalyItalian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
, culminating in June 1921 in the murder in Serravalle
Serravalle, San Marino
Serravalle is a castello located in the European republic of San Marino. With a population of 9,394 inhabitants and a surface of 10.53 km², it is not only the most densely populated municipality in San Marino, but it also contains its largest city...
of Italian doctor and Fascist sympathiser Carlo Bosi by local leftists, which led to condemnation by the surrounding Italian population and threats of retaliation by Italian squadristi
Squadrismo
Squadrismo was the use of violence by Italian Fascist gangs from 1918 - 1922. Squadrismo consisted of fascist squads who were led by the Ras...
. The government decided to ask Italy for help in the form of a detachment of 30 Carabinieri.
As in Italy, Fascism eventually took over government of the Republic, the Sammarinese Fascist Party
Sammarinese Fascist Party
The Sammarinese Fascist Party or Partito Fascista Sammarinese was a fascist political party that ruled San Marino from 1923 to 1943....
causing the Socialist newspaper Nuovo Titano to cease publication.
The 1930s was an era of public works and reinvention of the Republic's economy, with the construction of the San Marino-Rimini railway that connected it to the Italian railway network and modernization of the country's infrastructures that paved the way to its present status as a major tourist destination.
World War II
During World War II San Marino remained neutral, though it did not remain unscathed.On 26 June 1944, it was bombed by the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
which mistakenly believed it had been overrun by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunitions. The railway was destroyed and 63 civilians died during the operation. The British government later admitted the bombing had been unjustified and that it had been executed on receipt of erroneous information.
San Marino's hope to escape further involvement was shattered on 27 July 1944 when Major Gunther, commander of the German forces in Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, delivered a letter from German headquarters in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
to San Marino's government declaring that the country's sovereignty could not be respected if, in view of military requirements, the necessity of transit of troops and vehicles arose. The communiqué, however, underlined that wherever possible occupation would be avoided.
Fears were confirmed when on 30 July a German medical corps colonel presented himself with an order for the requisition of two public buildings for the establishment of a military hospital. On the following day, 31 July 1944, in view of the likely invasion by German forces, the state sent three letters of protest: one to Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
, German Foreign Minister, one to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and one to Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, the latter delivered by a delegation to Serafino Mazzolini
Serafino Mazzolini
Serafino Mazzolini was an Italian lawyer, fascist politician, and journalist.Mazzolini was born in Arcevia, in the Marche. He founded a nationalist group in Macerata, and soon became editor of the daily newspaper L'Unione...
, a high-ranking diplomat in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Demanding to meet Mussolini with the intention to ask that its neutrality be respected, the following day Mazzolini took them to see Mussolini, who promised to contact the German authorities and intervene in favour of San Marino's request.
San Marino was a refuge for over civilians who sought safety on the passing of Allied forces over the Gothic Line
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
during the Battle of Rimini
Battle of Rimini (1944)
The Battle of Rimini took place in between 13 and 21 September 1944 during Operation Olive, the main Allied offensive on the Gothic Line in August and September 1944, part of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War. Rimini, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy, anchored the Rimini Line, a...
, an enormous effort of relief by the inhabitants of a country that at that time counted only 15,000 people.
Despite all this, the Germans and Allies clashed on San Marino's soil in late September 1944 at the Battle of Monte Pulito; Allied troops occupied San Marino after that, but only stayed for two months before returning the Republic's sovereignty.
Post-War period and modern times
After the war, San Marino became the first country in Western Europe to be ruled by a communist party (the San Marinese Communist PartySan Marinese Communist Party
The Sammarinese Communist Party was a communist political party in San Marino.It was founded in 1941 and early became the largest opposition party to the governing Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party , gaining always around 20–25% of the vote, much less than its Italian counterpart, the Italian...
, in coalition with the San Marinese Socialist Party
San Marinese Socialist Party
The Sammarinese Socialist Party was a socialist and, later, social-democratic political party in San Marino...
) through democratic elections. The coalition lasted from 1945 to 1957, when the fatti di Rovereta
Fatti di Rovereta
The fatti di Rovereta was a constitutional crisis in San Marino in 1957 in which the Grand and General Council was deliberately rendered inquorate to prevent the scheduled election of Captains-Regent...
occurred.
Women gained voting rights in 1960. Having joined the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
as a full member in 1988, San Marino held the rotating chair of the organisation during the first half of 1990.
San Marino became a member of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1992. In 2002 it signed a treaty with the OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
, agreeing to greater transparency in banking and taxation matters to help combat tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
.
See also
- History of EuropeHistory of EuropeHistory of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
- History of ItalyHistory of ItalyItaly, united in 1861, has significantly contributed to the political, cultural and social development of the entire Mediterranean region. Many cultures and civilizations have existed there since prehistoric times....
- List of Captains Regent of San Marino
- Military of San MarinoMilitary of San MarinoSan Marino has one of the smallest military forces in the world. Its different branches have varied functions including: performing ceremonial duties; patrolling borders; mounting guard at government buildings; and assisting police in major criminal cases. There is also a military Gendarmerie which...
- Politics of San MarinoPolitics of San MarinoPolitics of San Marino takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Captains Regent are the heads of state, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Grand...
Further reading
- History of San Marino: Primary documents
- William Miller, The Republic of San Marino, in "The American Historical Review", Vol. 6, No. 4 (July, 1901), pp. 633 – 649.