San Marino Travel Guide

The country's capital (pop. 4 600) also named San Marino sits on the western slope of the tri-peaked Mt. Titano. Cars are prohibited in the medieval town center but even if they weren’t you’d want to explore the city by foot wandering along winding narrow streets lined with red-roofed stone houses medieval ramparts and somber fortresses.

Sights include the Gothic Palazzo Publico and colorful fortress guards at Piazza della Liberta; the 14th-century church of San Francesco (which has paintings by Raphael Guercino and Bellini); and the Palazzo dei Valloni (museum art gallery and San Marino’s national library). The Neoclassical Basilica di San Marino preserves the remains of the town’s stonecutter saint. A path runs from the basilica to the fortresses on Mt. Titano which include the 13th-century Montale (the smallest); the 10th-century Rocca Guaita (a prison until the 1960s); and the 13th-century Cesta (on the highest of the three peaks) which houses a museum of arms dating from the Middle Ages.

The path offers a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and Adriatic Sea too. Excursions can be made to the villages of Serraville (castle) and Valdragone (convent and church).