San Marino

After visiting the three towers, I spent the rest of my time exploring the maze of narrow cobblestoned streets. The streets blended into one another because they all sold tacky tourist souvenirs and perfume, with the odd gun shop thrown in for good measure.

Hidden among the lanes was one Atlas Obscura site, Cava del Balestrieri, where the (now ceremonial) Crossbow Corp practice their craft.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cava-del-ba…

I had a pizza lunch in the town center, and then I visited the State Museum, which had a collection of religious art (many also with disturbingly violent images), archeological artifacts from medieval times and earlier, and, oddly, a collection of Egyptian artifacts. I was hoping to learn about how San Marino became the world’s oldest republic, but there wasn’t anything about the founding of the republic.

After the museum, I made my way back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Rimini, and I had a coffee while waiting for the bus.

This was a rewarding day of exploration, and I can also now check country number 40 (excludes territories such as Puerto Rico and Hong Kong) off my list.Read more