From the top of Monte Titano, the central peak of the world's oldest republic, the endless view stretches west over rolling mountain ranges to the borders of Tuscany; east over Romagna's coastal plain to the Adriatic, and north and south to the Appennines, Italy's backbone.

The great castle, that for centuries guarded the liberty of this tiny land towers above you, and below the steep cobbled streets of its capital wind away, ending at cliffside ramparts. Further below still, level after level of honeyed stone houses and church towers descend to farmland dotted with tiny villages, each one clustered around its central fortress.

San Marino, formerly kown as San Marinous was founded in 301 AD by the country's Eponymous patron saint, an exile from Dalmatia long before the Croats arrived there. For over a thousand years, as far back as the historical records go, the Sammarinese have been a free, independent community. Never in history has this country been ruled by a king, duke, or lord, but always by its own free citizens.

The heart of the civil governement of San Marino is the Palazzo Pubblico, a white stone tower rearing over the cliffs of Monte Titano. Soldiers in ornate, brightly - coloured uniforms guard the massive doors of the Palazzo. On feast days the heads of the state, the two Captains Regents of the country, lead the members of the Congress of State and the Great and General Council, the tiny republic's Cabinet and Parliament, in solemn procession to the Basalica of San Marino to give thanks for the continued preservation of the land's ancient liberties.