Special Republic

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Day 26 - Mon. Oct. 17 - Port of call: Ravenna, Italy. Weather: Heavy fog in the morning and partly sunny in the afternoon - temperatures of 68°F/20°C



We were not sure this morning if we were going to see anything out on tour as an extremely thick fog surrounded the port city of Ravenna. Ravenna was once the former capital of the Western Roman Empire and now is very much an industrial centre. It does lay claim to several sites with beautiful mosaics making it a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but our focus today lay elsewhere. Many cruise ships stop at this port city because the port also serves as a gateway to the Apennine Republic of San Marino, the oldest surviving sovereign state in the world, and also one of the smallest at 60.57 sq. km.



San Marino has maintained its independence since the late 4^th century when Marino, a Christian stonemason from the Dalmatian island of Arbe, came to the work on the harbour at the coastal city of Rimini. Persecuted by the anti-Christian edicts of the Emperor Diocletian Marino retreated inland to Mount Titano where he was joined by other Christians and established the community.



Once again we boarded a bus for a 90 minute journey into the interior of Italy to the base of Mount Titano, there the driver expertly navigated the twisting narrow streets to the designated bus parking lot. I am in awe of how skillfully the bus driver handled his monster, especially on the hairpin turns up the mountain and when he backed into his parking spot.



San Marino is on the top of a mountain and is filled with multiple switchback streets, which seem to go UP forever. The guided walking tour, while only an hour in length, glowingly highlighted the heart of the town. Starting at the St. Francis Gate we moved up the street to St. Francis Church where the guide presented an overview of how the town started. Following a very steep street we then entered Garibaldi Square before moving on to the Public Palace and the Statue of Liberty. We stopped briefly at the top end of the cableway where we had an opportunity to view the valley below, when the fog was not surrounding us. Our final stop on the guided tour was at the Basilica of Saint Marinus. After a brief presentation inside the Basilica we were on our own for the rest of the afternoon. Finding a lovely restaurant we enjoyed our lunch outside.



Keeping an eye on the clock and making sure that we had ample time to wander back to the bus we retraced our steps. Brooke and Mary Ann went off to city hall where they paid €5 to obtain a San Marino stamp in their passports before helping out the local economy by doing a little shopping. There are many shops!



On the ride back to the port the driver avoided the expressway and took us through the countryside where the tour guide pointed out the many castles that dot the hills in the region. Back in Ravenna the fog had not lifted entirely but it could not hide the refineries as we approached the docks. On our way out of port this evening we passed many oil platforms that dot the Adriatic in this area and supply crude to Ravenna’s plants.



NOTE: There won’t be a blog entry tomorrow as it is a sea day as the ship moves south to Katakolon, Greece.

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