This will be short. I just think it’s kind of interesting, but not really worth diving into. On this day in 301, San Marino was founded. It claims to be the earliest republic still in existence. It was founded by Saint Marinus, supposedly fleeing the Diocletianic Persecution. But the fact that he could get away from it with only fleeing to modern day San Marino shows just how extensive the persecution was. Anyway, he founded a church there and thus a city and it still exists today.

But who knows? Really, Marinus is said to have died in 366, so he would have had to have been very young when he founded the place, or very old when he died. It’s possible, certainly. It wasn’t until 1631 that the Catholic Church officially recognized it as independent. The Sammarinese Fascist Party did lead the nation from 1923 through 1943. But it didn’t adopt anti-Jewish laws like Italy and Germany. And it managed to stay neutral throughout both World Wars. Generally, I think San Marino has managed to avoid conflict because it is so small, and powerful nations always figured that they could grab it when the need arose.

Anyway, it is now a wealthy European nation that has more cars than people. It could be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t especially want to live there. Still, it has an interesting history. But I don’t like places where you need a car to get around.