SAN MARINO

The Castle Committees are decentralised administrative organisms whose origins are founded in the united castles of the Republic of 1463 after the war against the Malatesta. Today the committees are present in all nine of the castles, they are designated by popular voting every 4 years and are composed of 21 members for the districts of more than 2000 habitants and of 15 members for the others. Every committee has its own castle Captain who stays in power for two years.

The Rocca which is properly called Guaita or the First Tower, dates back to the XI century. It was used as a guard tower and also as an initial refuge post and was constructed directly onto the mounts stone surface without the use of foundations, it has a pentagonal shape and the entrance door is surmounted by a baroque coat-of-arms of the Republic which belonged to the old Palazzo Pubblico. The internal town-walls are limited by the bell tower and the tower of penance which was constructed a few centuries later. A few of the Rocca's cells were assigned as prison cells up to October of 1970. From Guaita, across a fascinating panoramic route, you arrive at the Second Tower or Cesta or Fratta that is elevated onto the highest point of mount Titano (756 m.). The Fratta goes back to the XIII century, it also is of a pentagonal shape, and just as the precedent tower this too is home to a few prison cells. The guard-rooms and the castle keepers rooms are today occupied by the San Marino Museum of Antique Weapons that contains approximately 535 objects that range from swords and knives to lances, firearms, bows, crossbows and armour, all dating back to various eras between medieval and the late 800's.

The Palazzo Pubblico arose at the site of the Domus Comunis Magna and it is likely that it was constructed between 1380 and 1392 and has been repaired on various occasions. The inauguration took place on the 30/09/1894, the ceremonial speaker was Giosuè Carducci who for the occasion pronounced the now renowned speech on 'perpetual liberty'. The stone face, that is richly decorated with the coat-of-arms of the republics castle, is held up by three ogival arches; the centre is dominated by a polygonal balcony that has two decorated windows at it's sides. The square has been called Pianello or Piazza della Libertà. Under it there is an antique system of cisterns connected together for the collection of rain water, once used as a water reserve for the citizens of San Marino.