San Marino Flag

Description

San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, is an enclaved micro-state in Southern Europe, on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains, completely surrounded by Italy. It is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi), with a population of 33,562. Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest settlement is Dogana in the municipality of Serravalle. San Marino has the smallest population of any member of the Council of Europe. The official language is Italian, and San Marino maintains strong financial and ethno-cultural connections to its much larger neighbour. It is located close to the Riviera of Rimini, one of Italy’s main coastal resort areas. San Marino is one of only three countries in the world to be completely surrounded by another country (the others being Vatican City, also surrounded by Italy, and Lesotho, surrounded by South Africa). It is the third smallest country in Europe, after Vatican City and Monaco, and the fifth smallest country in the world.

The state and war flag of San Marino is formed by two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the centre; the coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks) with a closed crown on top, flanked by an oak and laurel wreath, with a scroll below bearing the word LIBERTAS (Liberty). The two colours of the flag represent peace (white) and liberty (azure). Blue is symbolic of the sky above, while white represents the snow covering Mt. Titano, San Marino’s highest point.