The tiny country of San Marino is the oldest republic in the world.
It was founded on 3 September 301 by stonecutter Marinus of Rab.
Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.
San Marino lies entirely within the country of Italy, in the Apennine Mountains.
A landlocked enclave, San Marino is just over 61 square kilometers (24 sq mi) with population of almost 30,000 people.
San Marino’s economy mainly relies on tourism, and is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP.
