La Souvenir

San Marino.

This is a book intended for tourists to The Most Serene Republic of San Marino, which is: Landlocked by Italy; the oldest constitutional republic; the oldest sovereign state; the world's smallest republic. The age of consent is 14. And you didn't even know it was a country!

The only book from San Marino I've been able to track down is this guidebook. I found it on Amazon Marketplace and paid $10, which seems comparable to the rates in Euros for the few German copies I was able to find on the net.

It opens with a short preface about San Marino in Italian, German, French, and English. The majority of the book consists of photos of San Marino with descriptive captions in these languages. I read it in Italian and English. Since I've never been to San Marino or a similar community (though I have been to Italy), I was fascinated by the photos and would like to visit someday. I'd like to read a novel or some poetry by a Sammarinese, but I do feel pleased to have found something published there. According to Wikipedia (also the slource for the age of consent data), the Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino teaches and publishes in Esperanto, so perhaps there are more reading options in my future.… (meer)