Eileen Wilson, age 14, of Utica,N.Y., for her question:
WHEN WAS SAN MARINO IN EUROPE FOUNDED?
Smallestrepublic in Europe is the tiny country of San Marino.
It was founded in A.D. 300s by a Christian stonemason from Dalmatia whose name was Marinus or Marino. He sought refugefrom persecution by the Roman emperor Diocletian. San Marino covers an area of only 24 square miles. The country lies on the eastern slopes of the Apennine Mountainsin northern Italy near the Adriatic Sea. The tiny country is actually completely surrounded by Italian territory.
The capital is a walled city named, like the country, San Marino. There are about 5,000 people living in this city,which is built on Mount Titano.Thecountry's entire population is about 20,000.
The peopleof San Marino are closely related to the people of northern Italy. Italian is the language everybody speaks. Governing San Marino are two Captains Regent and they are assisted by a 10 member Congress of State. The legislature,a 60 member Grand Council, is elected by the people every five years. The Grand Council elects the Captains Regent, who serve six month terms.
The people of San Marino are extremely proud of their independence and their traditions. Although there is some industry in the country, San Marino's chief sources of income are the tourist trade and postage stamps. More than 2 million tourists visit the tiny republic each year. Also, the country's postage stamps are very popular with collectors in all parts of the world.
The country has many fine historical buildings, including a beautiful church that was built in the 1300s.San Marino's present constitution of the republic was drawn up in the1600s.
Women in San Marino were given the right to vote in 1960. In 1973 they were also given the right to run for public office. Police and judges for San Marino are hired from Italy. According to tradition, Marino, the country's founder, took refuge on Mt.Titano, a precipitous rocky height that commanded a fine view of the hills, plains and the sea. Soon a community was formed.
Because of its position and its poverty, it succeeded, with only a few and brief interruptions, in keeping its independence. Three early towers built on the rocks and part of the pinnacled walls still stand.
In the cityof San Marino you'll find something unusual: a bust of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. In 1861, President Lincoln accepted the honorary citizenship of San Marino.