Though some of the details of the founding of San Marino vary depending on who is telling the story, what"s certain is that in the 4th century CE, a stone mason built a Christian chapel on a hill near the Mediterranean coast and founded the settlement that would share a name with Saint Marinus. Over the centuries European nations grew, shrank, and changed—but San Marino remained, ultimately bordered on all sides by Italy. Today, this tiny nation, sometimes called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, celebrates 1,718 years of existence and its continued status as the world"s smallest republic—24 square miles of quaint European charm embedded in Italy"s northeastern region.
In the Most Serene Republic
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Till the cows come home
-
Let the games (finally) begin!
-
Is there a bug-egg emoji for this?
-
An Alpine fairy-tale castle
-
A place called ‘Peace’ in India
-
Happy Syttende Mai!
-
Red skies at Ruby Beach
-
A. M. Foster Bridge in Cabot, Vermont
-
A courtyard scene from Spain
-
Borovets ski resort in Bulgaria
-
Terraced fields of green
-
A river runs through it
-
Let the holiday shopping commence
-
Glacier cave in Iceland
-
World Octopus Day
-
Diwali
-
Walk the line
-
A bull, some flowers, and a stratovolcano
-
Sami lavvu structures, Finnmark, Norway
-
Arches National Park, Utah
-
Celebrating the Acadians
-
Al-Khazneh in Petra, Jordan
-
Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
-
A grand event
-
Diving into the underwater nirvana
-
Wild turkeys in repose
-
Spring comes to Glacier National Park
-
200th anniversary of Brazilian independence
-
Oktoberfest begins
-
Ronda, Spain