San Marino is a small enclave surrounded by Italy. This country has incredible history - according to legend it was founded in the third century A.D. by a Christian builder who fled from Rome to escape religious persecution by Emperor Diocletian and took refuge at the top of the highest hill in San Marino. In the community that he had founded freedom and justice were meant to prevail, and for that reason this country is considered to be the oldest republic in the world. The fascinating history of this microstate is presented in an exhibition placed in the most important of the three fortresses of San Marino - Guaita. This eleventh-century fortress had been rebuilt several times until the sixteenth century when it received the present shape. The local tower served the function of a prison until the 1960s, today the building has a purely cultural function and from the observation deck you can admire a beautiful panorama.
