History of San Marino
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History of San Marino The official date of the foundation of the Republic of San Marino is AD 3 September 301. Legend states that a Christian stonecutter named Marinus escaped persecution from the Roman emperor Diocletian by sailing from the Croatian island of Arbe across the Adriatic Sea to Rimini. Marinus became a hermit, taking up residency on Monte Titano, where he built up a Christian community. He was later canonized andthe land renamed in his honor. Throughout the Middle Ages, the tiny territory made alliances and struggled to remain intact as a string of feudal lords attempted to conquer it in their attempts to control the Papal States. On 27 June 1463, Pope Pio II gave San Marino the castles of Serravalle, Fiorentino, and Montegiardino. The castle Faetano voluntarily joined later that year, increasing San Marino’s boundaries to their present size. In 1503, Cesare Borgia managed to conquer and rule San Marino for six months. In 1739, Cardinal Alberoni’s troops occupied San Marino. After many protests, the Pope sent Monsignor Enrico Enriquez to investigate the legality of Alberoni’s occupation, and San Marino subsequently regained its independence on St. Agatha’s day, now a national holiday. In 1797, Napoleon invaded the Italian peninsula. Reaching Rimini, he stopped short of San Marino, praising it as a model of republican liberty. San Marino declined his offer to extend its lands to the Adriatic Sea. With the fall of Napoleon, San Marino was recognized as an independent state, adopting the motto Nemini Teneri (Not dependent upon anyone). San Marino remains neutral in wartime, but many Sammarinese volunteered in the Italian Army during World War I. The nation hosted 100,000 refugees from border cities during World War II. After the world wars, many Sammarinese emigrated to Europe and America, where there are still large communities today. San Marino joined the Council of Europe in 1988 and the United Nations in 1992. In 2004, the country’s citizenship law was modified. In the past, citizenship was granted only to children of Sammarinese fathers. Now children born to Sammarinese mothers are automatic citizens. In official documents, the first day of the New Year is considered to be 3 September since the republic was founded on 3 September 301. In 2001,the republic celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of its founding. References: “Republic of San Marino.” CultureGrams World Edition. 2008. Page 1 of 1 .