San Marino interesting facts. Interesting facts about the tiny state of San Marino
San Francisco was founded by the Spanish and gained importance during the Gold Rush. In the center of the city there is Russian Hill, Russian Hills. It received this name back during the Gold Rush, when the burials of Russian traders and sailors were discovered on the hill. The slopes of the hill are so steep that some streets rise up in tiers. Lombard Street in Russian Hills is considered the most winding street in the world.
The symbol of San Francisco and one of the symbols of the United States is the Golden Gate Bridge. It was once the longest suspension bridge in the world. But even after giving the palm to others, he did not lose his splendor. Car traffic on the bridge was launched at Roosevelt's personal signal. When the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the bridge was celebrated in 1987, about 300 thousand people crossed it in one day. The speed of movement on the bridge is limited to 72 km/h, since the dividing strip made of plastic posts is not capable of preventing a car from entering the oncoming lane. This leads to serious accidents. Bridge tolls are charged one way only. You can cross the bridge from San Francisco completely free of charge.
Unfortunately, the Golden Gate Bridge is notorious for a high number of suicides. On average, 2 people drop off it per month. At a distance of 75 meters from the water, a person hits its surface at a speed of approximately 100 km/h, which is fatal. Only one person managed not to be seriously injured after jumping from the bridge, and the total number of survivors in the entire history of the bridge is 26 people.
San Francisco is a city of freedom. In the 60s, it was chosen by hippies, who spent the famous “Summer of Love” in the city. And later it became the birthplace of the rainbow flag. According to some data, about 15% of the city's population belongs to sexual minorities. There is no other city like this in the US. In San Francisco, homosexuals are treated much more tolerantly than in the provinces.
Alcatraz Island is located in San Francisco Bay and is home to one of the most famous prisons in the world. Currently it has been turned into a museum. The fort on the island was built during the Gold Rush to protect the city.
The first prison on Alcatraz was a military prison. The attitude towards prisoners was quite lenient. During the day they were not in the cells, but worked, helping with the housework of the island's residents, and even looked after the children. The prisoners even had their own baseball team, but things changed when the military prison was replaced by a federal one. They were not sent to Alcatraz by court order. Convicts who regularly violated prison rules or tried to escape ended up here. Escape from Alcatraz was considered impossible. The conditions were very strict, and the cold waters of San Francisco Bay roared around the island. However, it is possible that one successful escape was accomplished. In 1962, brothers Anglin and Frank Morris tried to escape from prison. The escape turned out to be successful. The official version says that the fugitives failed to cross the bay. But their bodies were not found. The program “MythBusters” showed that the escape could well have been successful. The movie "Escape from Alcatraz" was based on this story. Another famous prisoner was Al Capone.
These are just a few facts about the interesting and unusual city of San Francisco. There is no other one like it in the USA. And, probably, to understand America you definitely need to include this city in your trip.
80% of San Marino is rocky, and only 32 thousand people live on an area of 60.6 sq. km.
According to legend, in 301 AD, a Christian saint from the island of Rab in the Adriatic Sea (territory of modern Croatia), a stonemason named Marin, took refuge on the top of Monte Titano.
Therefore, formally San Marino has been considered an independent state since September 301. In fact, we can talk about independence only starting from the 16th century, when Italy broke up into many independent territories.
The area of the state is only 60.57 square meters. km. The country is located at an altitude of 738 m above sea level on the southwestern slope of the Monte Titano mountain range. In the photo: Government Palace:
San Marino has very low taxes, so many people seek local citizenship. But this is extremely difficult to do, and at best, after 15 years of marriage to a San Mari.
Snow in San Marino is a fairly rare occurrence, and it usually doesn’t last long. But 2 weeks before our arrival, there was plenty of it: during our stay, there were meter-long snowdrifts in the shady areas:
Unlike Italy, where sweet wines are not accepted, there are more than enough of them in San Marino. Personally, I liked the plum one the most, although, of course, each had its own twist.
Despite low taxes, prices in San Marino are generally no lower than in Italian stores.
Low taxes also give rise to a huge variety of banks.
The total length of the state's roads is only 104 km and all of them are winding:
A high economic level has a positive effect on the level of cars. Italian supercars are much easier to find here than in neighboring Italy.
There are narrow streets all around:
The higher you climb, the more beauty of nature opens up to us. On the clearest days you can see Croatia with binoculars.
San Marino is located in the visa area of Italy.
On the top of Mount Titano (755 meters), the Cesta fortress was built in the 16th century. Although the tower was rebuilt several times, its medieval appearance was not lost:
The most important of the three famous San Marian towers is the Guaita Tower. It was originally used as a watchtower and fortress. Subsequently, some rooms of the fortress were used as a prison, because it is extremely difficult to escape from here, because... The tower is surrounded by a double ring of fortress walls:
Tourism plays a significant role in the country's economy, and up to 2 million people are involved in the tourism industry in the state every year. More than 3 million tourists visit San Marino every year.
Interesting facts about San Marino
San Marino is one of the five smallest countries in the world. Its area consists of the capital of the same name, located at an altitude of about 700 meters on the slopes of Monte Titano, as well as a number of villages at the foot of the mountain. Only the island states of the South Seas are smaller than San Marino - Tuvalu And Nauru , as well as city-states Monaco And Vatican.
Quite recently, an unpleasant incident occurred in the principality Andorra , where a resident of San Marino was severely beaten. During the investigation, diplomats were able to find out that these states have been at war for 75 years. Moreover, no one knows the reasons for the outbreak of war; they do not have common borders or even military equipment. The head of Andorra explained this by saying that two insignificant states decided to become more significant for the rest of the world.
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Many people come to San Marino for shopping - after all, prices for fashionable clothes and accessories here are 30 - 40% lower than in the neighboring country. Italy.
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The founding date of the country is considered to be 301, when, according to legend, the mason Marino settled near Mount Monte Titano. He fled from the island of Rab (today it is Croatia ), fleeing persecution for their Christian beliefs. Later, a monastery was created near his cell, and he himself was canonized during his lifetime.
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The Constitution of San Marino is the oldest in the world, it was adopted in 1600 and is still in use today.
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You can’t get to San Marino either by train or by plane. There is not a single railway station in this dwarf state, nor are there any airports. All travel to San Marino is carried out exclusively by road.
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This country maintains its own calendar, where the starting point is the founding date of the Republic of San Marino, so it is now the 17th century.
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San Marino has about 220 kilometers of roads.
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The issue of postage stamps, along with tourism, is the most important source of cash receipts for the state budget, which finances the extensive social system of the republic.
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In 1861, San Marino created a president USA – Abraham Lincoln as their first honorary citizen - and in 1959 they issued stamps with his image on them.
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More than a third of the country's citizens live abroad.
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The Republic of San Marino is surrounded on all sides by Italy.
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When Napoleon approached San Marino, he was so surprised by the existence of this small mountainous country that he immediately offered to sign a peace treaty and, in addition, wanted to give some surrounding lands as a gift. The Sanmarinians thought about it and, in the end, signed a peace treaty, but decided to refuse the gift.
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Officially one of Europe's "microstates", San Marino is the 3rd smallest country in Europe.
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Since 1362, the Constitution of the Republic of San Marino has been in force - the oldest of all the existing republics in the world today.
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Low taxes make San Marino an attractive place to live, open a banking institution and do business. But, you can obtain citizenship of this country only after 15 years of legal marriage with a Sanmarinian or after 30 years of official residence in this country.
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From Monte Titano you can see Croatia through binoculars.
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The inhabitants of San Marino are called Samarinesi - sammarinesi (plural).
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During World War II, the people of San Marino provided refuge for more than 100,000 Italians and Jews, outnumbering the local population at the time by 10 to one.
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The state of San Marino is headed by captains-regents. In spring and autumn they are appointed for six months by the Great General Council, which, in turn, is elected every 5 years by direct popular vote. As a rule, one of them belongs to one of the honorable aristocratic families, and the second is a representative of the countryside. At the same time, both have equal veto rights. These senior positions are unpaid. On April 1 and October 1, San Marino solemnly celebrates the inauguration of the new captain. The ceremony takes place according to an ancient custom: during a costume party, the new head of the country is presented with the key to the gate and the wax seal of San Marino.
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Contrary to popular belief, citizens of San Marino are required to pay taxes regularly, so the ancient republic is by no means a tax paradise, like Monaco or the ocean islands. There is no universal conscription in the country; permanent self-defense forces, numbering 200 people, are formed from volunteers. However, in the event of a threat of war, every San Marino man between the ages of 16 and 55 is obliged to defend his homeland. However, since 1862 San Marino has been under the military protection of Italy.
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There are no customs controls at the entrance to San Marino. On the road leading into the country from the resort of Rimini, you can see a symbolic arch with the inscription “Welcome to the Land of Freedom.”
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The country has no public debt, and even has a budget surplus.
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About 80% of the country's territory is covered with rocks.
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When introducing themselves, residents of San Marino are accustomed to saying not only their name, but also their profession or position.
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San Marino has its own army, it numbers about a hundred people.
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Residents of San Marino have an annual income 40% higher than residents of Italy.
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Because of the fear of resolving legal issues in a biased manner (after all, Sanmarinians know everything about each other), Italian lawyers are most often invited to the courts to resolve disputes.
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If San Marino is not a suitable place for those who want to hide from taxes, then for other fugitives the ancient republic can become a welcome refuge. The most famous of all those who sought salvation in San Marino is considered to be the fighter for the unity and independence of Italy - Giuseppe Garibaldi. After the first attempt to unify Italy in 1849 failed, Garibaldi hid from his enemies in the territory of the dwarf state.
Tours to San Marino - special offers of the day
Interesting facts about San Francisco.
1. A city with many names
San Francisco was originally called Yerba Buena, a Spanish name meaning "Good Grass". "Baghdad by the Bay" and "The City That Knows How" are among the city's most famous nicknames.
2. City of Billionaires
Did you know that San Francisco is one of the richest cities in the world? It ranks fourth in the world after New York, Moscow and London in terms of the number of billionaires.
3. The bridge is too long to paint
One of the most important tourist spots in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge.
It opened in 1937 and is the second longest bridge in the world. It connects San Francisco to Marin County and Redwood Empire. The Golden Gate is constantly being painted and repainted because it is so long that when a team of workers finishes painting, they have to start all over again.
4. Other facts
Muir Woods, an extremely scenic site with giant sequoia trees, is located across the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco is the city where many things that are familiar to us today were born and surround us everywhere. For example, Chinese cookies that tell your fortune were invented by Makato Hagiwara at the Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco has the highest Chinese population in the world). Jeans were invented here, for the miners who mined gold in the city. They needed clothes that were rough and comfortable at the same time.
5. There is coffee for everyone
San Francisco is famous for its coffee shops. Irish coffee was invented here, and Caffe Trieste was the first coffee shop in the city since 1956. It is said that Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy was written in this place.
6. Strange streets and landmarks
Many people think that Lombard Street is the most confusing, but in fact, Vermont Avenue is the most confusing.
The prison on Alcatraz Island, where especially dangerous American criminals were kept, operated until 1963 and was at that time the only federal prison where prisoners took warm showers. But the reason for this was not at all humanistic considerations: the administration decided that prisoners, having become accustomed to comfort, had less chance of successfully escaping by swimming across the cold San Francisco Bay. Al Capone spent the last 5 years of his life there.
7. The Mouse (mouse) was invented in Silicon Valley and the image of the blue sky and hills that appears by default on Windows XP is a photograph taken in Napa Valley.
8. There are several versions of the origin of the “High five!” gesture, but the most common one points to its first appearance in a baseball game on October 2, 1977.
Los Angeles Dodgers players Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke played a successful combination, after which Burke raised his hand above his head in delight. Not knowing what to do, Baker slapped his hand with his own. Three years later, Burke, an openly gay man, was forced to retire from baseball, but he never forgot the gesture. He popularized it in the Castro district of San Francisco, known as a densely populated area of sexual minorities, where the “High Five” became a symbol of gay self-identification.
9. In 1932, due to the Great Depression, the Brazilian government was unable to find money for athletes to travel to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The solution was to put a delegation of 82 athletes on a ship with coffee and force them to sell it on the way to America. Upon arrival at the port of San Pedro, the athletes were faced with the requirement of its administration to pay a dollar for each person who went ashore. Since there was not enough money for everyone, only those who had a chance of winning a medal were released from the ship. Then the ship sailed to San Francisco, sold another batch of coffee there, returned and landed some more athletes, but 15 Brazilian Olympians never made it to Los Angeles.
10. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the only influential power that remained friendly to Russia was the United States. American volunteers, including surgeons, helped Russian troops. When the British and French held a banquet in San Francisco after the fall of Sevastopol, not a single one of the invited Americans came there, and the celebration hall itself was destroyed by the crowd.
11. In the 19th century, entrepreneur Joshua Norton lived in San Francisco. After financial failures, he apparently went mad and assumed the title His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I of the United States and Protector of Mexico. However, the townspeople reacted to his eccentricity with humor - banknotes signed by the “emperor” were accepted in restaurants and shops, and when they met, people saluted him.
Norton issued many decrees and decrees, which were readily published in newspapers. The most famous among them is the decree dissolving the US Congress; for obvious reasons, it was ignored by Congress. After Norton's death in 1880, it was discovered that he had no savings, but the townspeople quickly collected the amount necessary for the funeral, and more than 10 thousand people came to the funeral itself.
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