Location
San Marino
In the heart of Italy, on the border between the regioni of Emilia Romagna and Marche, the Republic of San Marino extends for 61,196 km². It is the third smallest country in Europe, with only Vatican City and Monaco being smaller.
The Monte Titan that with its three “penne” (jutting peaks) is the symbol of the country, it marks the beginning of the Tuscan-Romagna section of the Apennines and, with its 749 meters over sea level, it is the highest point in the Country. In effect, the mount has an unusual configuration as compared to the surrounding territory which is prevalently hilly. Actually, it is a large sandy limestone rock, residual of the fragmentation of a large undersea plate over twenty-million years ago. Other fragments formed mounts which today are called: Della Verna, Simoncello, Fumaiolo, San Leo.
Castel of San Marino
In San Marino the districts equivalent to the Italian provinces are the Castles: territories with dministrative autonomy.
Republic is divided into 9 Municipalities (“Castelli”), each of which is led by a Council (“Giunta”) that manages the services to citizens and has the duty to involve residents in the promotion and organization of cultural activities.
Head of Giunta di Castello is Captain of the Castle. The Councils and government bodies are coordinated by Ufficio di Giunta di Castello.
Every 5 years all adult residents are called to the vote to elect the Council of the district area and the Captain of the Castle.
Castles with over 2000 in habitants have Giunte with 9 members, the other ones with 7 members.
Food and Wine
The popular history of a region is connected with the history of food, so if you want to learn more about the Republic of San Marino you can enjoy its food and wine tradition. With the abandonment of the countryside and the social and economic transformations, the ancient traditions of the food of San Marino were partly mixed with the needs of modern times.
What has definitely been since ancient times is the passion for the “piadina”, a flat thin bread that still accompanies any type of food, from simple herb, cheese, to the finest foods meat.
To the mixture of flour and water, once, was added a piece of corn flour and, on special occasions, was topped with pork lard.
Another typical dish still popular is polenta (polenta in the cutting board), once served with sausage gravy and grated pecorino or in the more rich version with birds sauce, bacon and sage. Among the pasta dishes “i strozapret” made with flour, water and salt and served with meat sauce and cheese. Do not miss tagliatelle, strozzapreti, ravioli and gnocchi.
On Christmas Eve, the tradition is to consume the pasta and chickpeas, instead at Christmas Lunch you eat“cappelletti in brodo”.