The Three Towers

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June 30th 2016

Published: August 10th 2016

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Delek Delek

View Of Torre Cesta, San Marino

A postcard view of San Marino.

Sleep-deprived and exhausted from the last few days, an early start to catch my bus from Verona to Rimini probably wasn't the best idea but it was the best and cheapest option I had. So it was probably no surprise - and it has to be said that this is the first time this has happened for a long time - that I overslept having forgot to set an alarm the previous night. I then had forty minutes to get my shit together and sprint to the bus stop; a 35-minute walk away.
So if an early start was the last thing I needed at the time, I now - barely able to open my eyes - had a sweaty, exhausting, 25-minute sprint across Verona to catch my bus. It reminded me of old times. Most people would probably have given up. Not me.
I don't really go in for this anymore - these days I much prefer to get to places early (Shock! Horror!) so I don't have to rush and so I don't get so stressed. I don't get that sense of achievement from just making it to places anymore. I just know that if I find myself in

Medieval Alleyway, San Marino

Medieval alleyway in Citta di San Marino.

situations where I have a race against the clock, I know I can do it. Besides, I'm not working or anything right now so I got all the time in the world - I don't have that pressure of having to make the most of the limited holiday time I have available.

My bus rides so far in Europe have been relaxed and comfortable. Not this time, what with me drenched in sweat, constantly on the verge of passing out, having the woman next to me constantly talking on the phone and being surrounded by sniggering teenage boys. Luckily the ride was only 3 1/2 hours and I was passed out for most of it.

Having been able to speak the language in the countries I had travelled for so long, it was so annoying to now not be able to. You can't joke around or get to know the people around you in the same way. I thought that my Spanish would come in handy in Italy but I've not ended up trying to use it. Some words are really different in Italian than they are in Spanish so I get scared of using my Spanish in

Torre Guaita, San Marino

The oldest and largets of Citta di San Marino's three towers.

case the locals have no idea what I am saying, or if they get offended by the fact that I am talking to them in Spanish rather than Italian.
Also, unlike a lot of other countries with many tourists, English isn't as widely spoken here as you might expect, so you still get spoken to in Italian even after it is clear that you don't speak a word.

I'll be honest - I never planned on coming to Rimini. The only reason I was there was because it was the easiest place from which to visit San Marino. And why was I bothering going to San Marino? Well, because it was a cheeky and easy country to tick off, just like Andorra. One more step towards 100. Besides, there might be something interesting there.
But more about San Marino a little later on.

Back in Rimini, I'll admit that I hadn't even heard of the place until I saw it on a map. It isn't even listed in the Lonely Planet. So I was expecting a small town with not a lot going on. Maybe it has a few nice squares.
Then when booking my hostel, I realised

Piazza della Liberta & Palazzo Publico

Main square in Citta di San Marino where the Sammarinese parliament sits.

that it had a beach - and a long, massive one too (stop sniggering down the back)! And accommodation here was much cheaper too, than I have been paying ever since I got to Europe.
Needing somewhere to stop and regroup, Rimini suddenly seemed perfect.

So imagine my surprise when I saw the line-up of beachside hotels - some real nice ones too. There was a beachside road and then another parallel one with all the hotels just one block behind it. It was no Playa del Carmen but it thankfully wasn't as tacky as S'Arenal in Mallorca. About halfway in between.
There are apparently a lot of Russians here too, if the signboards on the cafes and shops are anything to go by.

With such a huge beach on the map, I found myself wondering why I had never heard of this holiday destination before. Well, the beach is depressingly, completely taken over by "beach clubs" with almost all of the sand occupied by thousands upon thousands of sun loungers. But for a couple of metres from the water, sun loungers were all you could see. It isn't the nicest beach I've ever seen either, with it's brown, dirty-looking,

Rimini's Beach

Not the greatest and ruined by beach clubs and sun loungers.

coarse and clumpy sand and its relatively cloudy, still water. But then again, I am comparing it to the beaches I've seen in Mexico, Cuba and Brazil.

I may have left France but Euro 2016 continued and I was looking for a place with a bit of atmosphere for Italy's knockout match against Spain. As luck would have it, there was a big screen down by the beach - Rimini's very own fan zone and the locals were out in force.
One thing that Italians never lack is passion, especially when it comes to football. Despite being completely surrounded by colourful locals, unlike in France, I found myself rooting for the opposition. Probably natural considering how much time I have spent in Spain, learning the language and understanding the culture there a little deeper. Sadly - but jubilantly for the Italians - Italy again put on a defensive masterclass and no little amount of guile in attack to win the game in typical, typical Italian fashion, just like they did against Belgium in their first match of the tournament. It is as if defending is in every Italian's blood - it's just the footballing culture and it's perfectly suited

The Big Match, Rimini

Locals gather in front of a big screen by the beach for Italy vs Spain in the European Championships 2016.

to tournament football, which is why they have won so many over the years. That's my theory anyway.
In Rimini, there were great scences when Graziano Pelle banged in the second goal just before full time to seal Spain's fate. Travelling Europe during the Euros has provided some memorable moments so far!

Following Italy's triumph was England's match against Iceland where I watched the match at the Rose & Crown - an English pub in case you hadn't guessed it from the name.
Things started off well for England, winning a penalty in just the 3rd minute, which Wayne Rooney tucked away well into the corner. Normal service, you might say. Then just three minutes later, Iceland - with a population of just 330,000, which is the size of Coventry or Croydon - equalised from a long throw set piece straight out of Tony Pulis's Stoke City handbook. England had been hit by a goal forged from old English tactics.
Annoyance then gave way to disbelief just twelve minutes later when Iceland took the lead. Could this be one of England's most embarrassing results in their history? The English huffed and puffed for the rest of the match but

Viale Regina Elena, Rimini

Rimini's slightly tacky main drag behind the beachfront is still busy at 11pm at night, but busy with restarurants, cafes and shops rather than nightclubs and bars.

with the Icelandic defence so well drilled, never looked like equalising. And so the final whistle went, sparking Icelandic elation and English ignominy. This was fairytale stuff for Iceland, everyone's second favourite team at the tournament.
For England, it wasn't overlooked that their exit from the Euros had come just days after the country had voted to leave the EU - cue jokes from all and sundry regarding the English players respecting the wishes of their public and leaving the European Championships. It was yet another underachievement in a major tournament with this perhaps going down as the most humiliating exit of recent times. That would be taking something away from Iceland however, who were excellent and deserving winners.

On the way back to the hostel around 11pm, Rimini's main drag was alive. There were loads of people taking an evening stroll and cafes and even clothes shops were still open. Not that I was going to stay out - I was absolutely knackered and was even falling asleep a little during the English game (perhaps that was just how bad England were). Time for bed.

Not much was done the next day; just sleeping, reading the paper

Piazza Tre Martiri, Rimini

One of Rimini's two main squares in the old town. This one named after three martyrs - three anti-fascists who were executed in the square during Mussolini's rule.

and cooking - the slide of the pound had seen 3€ a day whacked off my daily budget overnight thanks to the bloody Brexit vote so I was now forced into cooking my meals. I was also forced to pay 1€ to use the stove for just 20 minutes. I have never seen this at a hostel before and was a bit peeved about it. As for the hostel itself, is marketed as a party hostel but things were pretty quiet. I seemed to be the only guy in the whole hostel (for a change) but then all the girls seemed to be staff rather than guests and seemed to be of the teenage, self-centred variety. Needing more rest after a fairly active few days, I didn't mind the quietness too much.

The next day I discovered that there was more to Rimini than just the beachfront.
Rimini was in fact a Roman town so there is some history here.
The old town admittedly doesn't look that Roman anymore but it is still a neat, pleasant place with pedestrian alleys, cute cafes and shops and charming squares. Everyone here rides a bike - and why not; the whole city

Tiberius Bridge, Rimini

This Roman bridge was complete in 20AD under Emperor Tiberius.

is flat, there are cycle lanes everywhere and the town is the perfect size to get around easily by bicycle.
There is also a local culinary speciality here - the piadina. Specific to the Emilia-Romagna region, it is basically a flatbread - like a tortilla - folded in half with various fillings inside such as meat, cheese and vegetables.

On my last full day in Rimini, I finally got around to doing what I came here to do - visit San Marino.
There is always a novelty factor about visiting micro-states such as Monaco, Vatican City and Andorra, mostly because of the fact that such pint-sized principalities/republics actually exist.
With just 61 square kilometres of land, San Marino is the world's fifth-smallest country and its population of just 32,000 makes it Europe's least populated country after the Vatican.
Founded by a stonecutter cum saint called Marinus who originally hailed from Croatia, the city and now state of San Marino was established in 301AD. It was then declared independent by the Pope in 1631; but by then San Marino already had its own constitution, considered to be the oldest constitution still in effect - thus making San Marino the world's oldest

Basilica del Santo, San Marino

Church dedicated to the state's patron saint.

sovereign state.

As I entered the country, my first impressions were that it had much in common with its fellow micro-state of Andorra.
Firstly, both countries are fairly well-off and this seemed reflected in the relative development of both countries. San Marino is in fact, one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Like Andorra, much of this wealth stems from its VAT-free status and from being a tax haven.
Secondly, both have their capitals in the mountains; Andorra is in fact completely in the Pyrenees and Citta di San Marino is located atop Mount Titano. Lesotho, also a relatively tiny country, is interestingly and curiously also situated in the mountains.

By all accounts, the only part of San Marino worth visiting is the capital and birthplace of the country; Citta di San Marino or the City of San Marino / San Marino City. Built like a fortress atop Mount Titano, it has a polished, medieval feel to it, with its beige stone buildings and narrow alleyways. A little like Carcassonne. Unlike Carcassonne however, Citta di San Marino does feel a touch more contrived, almost as if it is a purpose-built theme

Alley, San Marino

One of the mazy streets of Citta di San Marino.

park. There are tons of shops thanks to San Marino's VAT-free status, mostly selling clothes, jewellery and weirdly, weapons such as guns and samurai swords. Goods as gimmicky as the city itself.
But to call the city a gimmick would be unfair. It is a definitely a pleasant, aesthetically pleasing place to wander around - a nice place to get lost while walking its mazy, medieval streets.

Eager to learn a bit more about the country and more specifically, how it gained and kept its sovereignty, I decided to spend 4.50€ on the state museum. It had various archaeological artefacts that were found in the republic and it did shed a little light on its history from Roman times, but ultimately the artefacts (pots, ceramics, coins and rudimentary tools) and paintings were a bit boring and didn't really answer my questions. Much of the collection was also non-Sammarinese - donations of Roman, Greek and even Egyptian origin.

There are three towers on the Sammarinese coat of arms and these are representative of the three towers atop Mount Titano; the Torre Guaita, the Torre Cesta and the Torre Montale. The first two towers are proper fortresses but each were

Front View Of Torre Guaita, San Marino

View as you approach the fortress's front entrance.

charging 4.50€ to enter; I've seen my fair share of fortresses so I declined to take them up their offers. The Torre Guaita however, is majestically perched atop the highest point of Mount Titano and perhaps even provides San Marino's postcard shot. The Torre Montale is a plain, standalone tower that is pretty boring and inaccessible.

The last thing I wanted to see was the changing of the San Marino guard in front of the Palazzo Publico. I might've missed the last change however and not wanting to be stuck in San Marino for another hour, I caught my bus back to Rimini.

So San Marino was more touristy than I was expecting and it certainly had more history than I was expecting too. Before doing my research on the place, I certainly didn't know that the capital was an basically an old medieval fortress. Definitely worth a half-day visit if you're looking to tick off another country.
As for Rimini, it seems to be the holiday destination of choice for many Italians and the tourists here really are just people having a relaxing break from work by the beach with a bit of a party in the

Torre Montale, San Marino

The least significant of Citta di San Marino's three towers.

evening. It almost feels a bit like Italy's Malia or Magaluf but far more civil. There isn't much for the discerning backpacker however and I never quite felt comfortable here.

It was in Rimini too that I realised any surplus I had from selling some shares a month ago had been completely obliterated and I really felt the pinch of a tight budget here. When everyone else is having a relaxing time on holiday, it really did suck not being able to to splash out with abandon on beers and ice cream. I really was watching every penny.
This was also because I was heading to one of Croatia's two most popular holiday destinations next; Hvar Island. If accommodation prices are anything to go by, I am going to blow my seriously modest budget there - again.

Arrivederci,
Derek

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