Italy–San Marino border
A short ring of border around a republic that traces its origin to the 4th century, on the slopes of Mount Titano between Emilia-Romagna and the Marche. San Marino stayed independent through the Renaissance and Napoleon, sheltered Garibaldi, and had its independence confirmed by treaties with the new Italy from 1862.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
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A republic that survived
According to tradition, St Marinus and a group of Christians settled on Mount Titano in the early 4th century to escape persecution. By the 12th century San Marino was a self-governing commune, and it kept its independence from neighbouring bishops and lords largely thanks to its isolation, surviving even an occupation by Cesare Borgia in 1503 and attempts in the 18th century to annex it to the Papal States.[1]
When Napoleon invaded Italy he respected the republic’s independence and even offered to extend its territory in 1797, and the Congress of Vienna recognised it in 1815. During Italian unification San Marino sheltered revolutionaries including Giuseppe Garibaldi, and after Italy became a nation-state a series of treaties, the first in 1862, confirmed San Marino’s independence.[1]
“he respected the independence of the republic and even offered to extend its territory”[1]
Around Mount Titano
The republic is an irregular rectangle up to 13 km long, dominated by the limestone mass of Mount Titano, 739 metres high, with its three fortified summits. Its streams flow to the Adriatic or into the Marecchia, and the north-east slopes down towards the Romagna plain. Mount Titano and the historic centre became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008.[1]
Timeline
More borders
Sources
- [1]San Marino · Encyclopaedia Britannica
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.