There are two countries within Italy. One, the Vatican, is the smallest sovereign state in the world. The other, San Marino, is the most ancient Republic still extant.

There is something very magical about San Marino, a place which I had the pleasure to visit only once in my life, but that left a very strong impression on my then-young mind. It was like walking into a tale of wonders because I had never seen quite anything like it: perched on top of a mountain and guarded by a castle, from there you could see, almost by magic, the joyous land of Romagna below, all the way to the sea.