When planning a trip to Italy, not many people include San Marino in their itinerary. San Marino is a tiny country that is completely surrounded and landlocked by Italy. Its existence is a feat of a legacy of diplomacy and friendship with its one neighbor.
For avid travelers, San Marino is a must-visit destination within the nation (of Italy), especially for those who love geopolitics and unique experiences that offer moments that pique the mind.
That being said, San Marino’s economy relies on tourism for a chunk of its revenue generation. So, the center of its city caters to this with lines of souvenir shops and guided tours. However, there is a different approach one can take, trying something different!
- Visit the Three Towers
- Now, this might not seem like a unique thing to do, in fact almost all tourist visit at least one of them when in the City of San Marino – Guita, Cesta or Montale. However, there is another experience within this experience that many skip: visiting the prison museum within Guita Tower.
- For a few euros extra, you can get a ticket that allows you access to the castle that was also once a prison with a daunting history. One that speaks of the practice of torture during a dark period in San Marino’s history. Although this is not for the fainthearted, it gives a glimpse of how this happy microstate once practiced gruesome punishments on its residents and many non-Sammirese (yes, that’s the demonym) detainees.
- Send a postcard!
- Not many people know about the wonder that is San Marino, therefore if you are spending lots of time there or just there for a day trip, your loved ones would love to receive a unique card with the nation’s unique stamps – and unique they are: like this strange stamp that has the word “Sorry” on it and a stock image of a man smiling and covering half his face with his hand. We asked the locals what’s the story behind the stamp, and even they were baffled.
Postcards are available at most souvenir shops for half a euro. However don’t trouble yourself and go to the post offices, most of the tobacco shops have stamps for some reason.
Also, make sure you drop the stamped cards in one of the white mailboxes in San Marino as they will not be mailed if dropped in an Italian mailbox.
3. Get a passport stamp from the Tourist Office
Because San Marino has open borders with Italy, no ports, no airports or border checkpoints, it’s impossible to get a stamp in your passport that certifies your visit to this nation. Therefore, the tourist office has solved this issue by allowing any tourist with 5 euros to get a stamp and a sticker in their passport.
You can also film this experience, but be sure to ask prior to pointing your camera. The tourism office closes at 4 pm, so make sure you put this visit in the beginning of your trip to avoid queuing.
4. Make your own Paida
Almost every restaurant or trattoria in San Marino has its own variation of the local dish known as piada, which is basically a locally-made flat beard that’s a cross between a focaccia and a wrap. But what many don’t know, that you can make your own confection. Ask the staff at any restaurant if you can pick and choose what you want in your piada. Make sure to incorporate some of the locally-sources greens or air-dried bresaola.
5. Meditate atop the Mount Titano
Monte Titano, also known as Mount Titan is a mountain of the Apennines and the highest peak in San Marino. It stands 739 m (2,425 ft) above sea level and is located immediately to the east of the capital, San Marino. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 under the combined title “San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano.”
Travel to Italy can be city-centric, especially when traveling to specifically see San Marino. As there are airports, your best entryway to the country is through Rimini or Bologna, which is an hour’s train ride away.
When going to San Marino’s high terrain, you will notice that the air is fresh and crisp. It’s a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of the cities. The quality of air is on another level. So, sit back, face the beautiful view and take it all in!
6. Find and keep San Marino-minted coins
While purchasing food or souvenirs in San Marino, be on the lookout for rare San Marino-minted coins. Although San Marino is not a member of the EU, they still use the Euro as their currency and are permitted to produce their own coins.
You can purchase a set of the coins from one of the bigger and well-stocked souvenir shops, but it’s much more of a treat to find your own in the change given back to you. They serve is a tiny bit of San Marino in your collection.
7. Vist the Museum of Curiosities
Although this museum has nothing to do with San Marino or its long history of being a sovereign republic, it is very interesting to visit. Located in the heart of the cities, this museum has three floors of the weird and unusual. It’s worth a visit, but only if you have seen most of what the country has to offer, as it is more of a novelty than anything tied to the experience of being in the world’s fifth smallest country in the world. It’s also the third smallest country in Europe, after Vatican City and Monaco respectively.
8. Have some Sammirinese wine
If you are an oenophile, this is something that any wine-lover would not want to miss. Although Italy is famous for its array of delectable wines and sprawling countryside filled with vineyards, San Marino also makes its own wine, particularly white varietals.
Because the country straddles the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche, it’s bound to have its own winemaking heritage. One winemaker of note is Consorzio Vini Tipici di San Marino. Their tagline is: “così piccoli, così unici” (“so small, so unique”), which plays on San Marino’s tiny size.
9. Visit the shell house in Rimini
Yes, this is not categorically in San Marino, but very few tourists come to San Marino without at least passing by the sleepy beach city of Rimini, which is one of the highlights of our Italian trip.
An Italian taxi driver took it upon himself to ornate his beachside home with sea shells. Although he does not sell sea shells by the seashore, he did collect 12,000 of them and fixed them on the outside walls of the house. He did not stop there, he also decorated the fence and flower pots.
