Città di San Marino: Wrapping Up Day 3

After spending the morning at the iconic towers of San Marino, we decided to take a break from sightseeing. It was almost 1:00p … time for lunch.

Mui had done some research that led us to Ristorante Trattoria Ritrovo dei Lavoratori … which roughly translates as the meeting place of the workers. Located outside the immediate tourist center, it had a local ambiance. The menu listed a selection of local specialties … which weren’t all that different from what one finds on Italian menus. The food was good … the portions plentiful … the prices considerably less than most of the other restaurants in town.

Tummies sated, we next went to a couple of state museums included in our admission ticket.

First, we retraced our steps to the museum/art gallery at the cloister of the Church of Saint Francis … dating back to 1361. The collection was small … mostly consisting of Christian artifacts … some paintings, a couple of frescos, and several Carrara marble sculptures … the latter inside glass cases that made them impossible to photograph.

From there, we went to the San Marino National Gallery, which is housed in the Volunteers’ Loggias that date back to the 1930s. The gallery is billed as exhibiting works by some of the most renowned artists of the 20th century. Interesting, but as it turns out, not really our cup of tea.

We decided to skip the Coin and Stamp Museum since neither of us has much of an interest in philately and numismatics. By this time, having climbed up and down stairs and walked up and down steep streets, our feet were ready for a break anyway. Heading back to the apartment made sense.

Around 7:30p, revived after a relaxing afternoon at the apartment, we bundled up against the nighttime chill and headed out for a wander to see the city’s monuments lit up at night … the streets all but deserted. I think I counted no more than 10 people walking around. A peaceful and quiet wrap up of our visit to the Republic and City of San Marino.Read more