Headed off this morning for the smallest republic in the world, San Marino. We took a ‘shortcut’ from Urbino which meant we were on secondary roads up through the mountains. This is really lovely looking country and as I said yesterday would be spectacular but for that haze that blurs any distant views.
San Marino was a fascinating spot. The old city is perched high on a hilltop that looks down over newer development. Had a coffee and a walk through the old city. Bought some San Marino postage stamps, send some postcards and tried to get some San Marino money in some change but the lady didn’t have any at the time. They still have their own currency which they use alongside the Euro, the Euro being the predominant currency.
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| The view from San Marino |
It’s amazing to think that a country can exist when it’s only just over 61 square kilometres and has a total population of around 30,000. Not only is it the smallest republic but also the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world. It was founded on 3 September 301. Its constitution, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita). It is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus. Incredible!!
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| San Marino |
Drove from San Marino down out of the mountains to the coast and the Adriatic Sea. We called into the seaside town of Cévia and had a delicious seafood lunch (grilled fish, prawns, squid and salad with a little vino). It was little wonder it was good, as the fishing boats were tied up in the river less than 20 minutes away. Beside each fishing boat was a little stall so I can imagine it would be a hive of activity here when the boats come in.
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| Fish stalls at Cevia |
We went for a walk along the beach. The beach is effectively divided up into sections which is run by a hotel, a bar, shop, resort and such like. Each establishment has its locker rooms for people to change in and obviously hire equipment like deck chairs and umbrellas. Some provide volleyball courts, trampolines, bowling rinks, children’s playgrounds and other entertainment activities. Their piece of the beach stretches right down to almost the waterline, although there was room for us to walk along the foreshore.
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| Cevia Beach |
A bit further along something was happening with kites. A radio station had its outdoor studio set up and the whole sky was full of kites: little ones; giant ones; and some amazing strings of kites doing acrobatics in unison, diving down to just over people’s heads.
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Kites at Cevia Beach
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Found a sorbet shop and then headed off for our hotel for the night at Revenna. The hotel is right in the centre of town so after a bit of a rest, we went for a walk to have a look at some of the mosaics that Revenna is famous for. Found that we had to buy a single ticket for a number of museums which we didn’t have time for (only about 30 minutes before closing time) or for that matter the inclination. Instead, we had a bit of a wander around and had kebabs and chips before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
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| Revennia |
