San Marino: Europe’s Small Historic Republic Enclave

The country is often mistakenly considered a city-state, but does not meet the characteristics of such a state. The Republic of San Marino is located on the eastern slope of the Etruscan Apennines. The central area of the country is almost completely crossed in a north-south direction by the steeply eastward sloping limestone ridge of Monte Titano, about seven kilometers long, which is the highest point of the republic with a height of 739 meters. The lowest point is Torrente Ausa at 55 metres. San Marino is located at 43°56' North and 12°27' East. The national territory has approximately the shape of an irregular pentagon and is predominantly hilly. It is 61.19 square kilometres in size. The border with Italy is 39 kilometres long. Two major rivers have their source in the territory: the Ausa and the Fiumicello. Furthermore, the rivers San Marino and Marano flow through the country, which borders on the two Italian regions Emilia-Romagna in the northeast and Marche in the southwest. The capital San Marino is located on the Titano.

Climate

San Marino has a humid subtropical climate (effective climate classification: Cfa), which is somewhat cooler here than on the nearby coast due to the altitude. In summer, temperatures range between 20 °C and 32 °C, in winter between -2 °C and 10 °C. In warm summers, temperatures also rise to 35 °C. In winter, the temperature occasionally drops below -5 °C. Then it can snow on Monte Titano. Rain falls evenly throughout the year, totaling about 550 millimeters per year.

flora and fauna

The steep slopes of Monte Titano and the hilly landscape around the mountain massif are relatively densely wooded and bear the typical Mediterranean vegetation. It includes deciduous deciduous forest with maples and elms and evergreen woods with holm oaks and pines; in the evergreen scrub, the macchia, grow laurel, myrtle, lavender bushes as well as strawberry and olive trees.

The country's fauna primarily includes species that are considered cultural successors of humans and as such are also found in the immediate vicinity of human settlements. These include foxes, hares, hedgehogs and martens. Other species, such as roe deer and weasels, prefer the more densely covered forest areas as their habitat. The bird fauna is rich in species. Falcons breed in rock niches or on high trees, and songbirds include nightingales, orioles, goldfinches, serinets and linnets.

The inhabitants of San Marino are ethnic Italians. Today, San Marino is home to 83.1% San Marinese citizens and 12% Italian citizens.

San Marino has 33,598 inhabitants (as of 31 May 2021). Of these, 4,056 live in the capital San Marino. The largest settlement is Serravalle with 11,055 inhabitants. Borgo Maggiore has 6,968 inhabitants, Domagnano 3,543, Fiorentino 2,544, Acquaviva 2,113, Faetano 1,180, Chiesanuova 1,135 and Montegiardino 1,004. The proportion of women in San Marino is 50.9%.

In addition, there are nearly 12,800 citizens living abroad, particularly in Italy, the USA, France and Argentina (as of December 2012).

The population density is 536 inhabitants/km². The birth rate from 2000 to 2004 was 10.6 per 1000 inhabitants and the death rate was 6.8 per 1000 inhabitants, so San Marino's population is still growing today. Life expectancy at birth in 2016 was 80.7 years for men and 86.1 years for women. The average life expectancy is 83.3 years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), San Marino is the state with the highest life expectancy for men.

The national language is Italian. Due to the strong tourist orientation of the state, almost every inhabitant speaks a foreign language fluently, mostly English, German or French. The Romagna dialect, which is partly influenced by that of the neighbouring Marche, is particularly widespread among the older generations.