San Marino

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) is a country situated in the Apennine Mountains. It is a landlocked enclave, completely surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 60 km² with an estimated population of almost 30,000. Its capital is City of San Marino. One of the European microstates along with the Vatican, Monaco, and Andorra, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.

San Marino is the oldest sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, having been founded on 3 September 301 by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then a Roman colony, in 257 AD 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.

The Constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect.