140 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph from Alice Rohe 



EMPTYING WINE CASKS AT THE GATE OF SERRAVAEE : SAN MARINO 



As these splendid animals attest, stock-raising is the principal occupation of the Sam- 

 marinesi, but the cultivation of vineyards is a close second. Even the poorest peasant crushes 

 his grapes and makes his wine. 



the sea, and through the clear air the gaze 

 crosses the Adriatic and discerns the faint 

 outline of Dalmatia, the land from which 

 came that pious stone-cutter, founder of 

 the Republic, the land of liberty and 

 peace — Marino. 



But nearer at hand, so close that it 

 seems as if one could almost call across, 

 though it is six miles distant, the most 

 compelling of all San Marino's moun- 

 tainous neighbors holds the attention. It 

 rises abruptly from the rolling hills, an- 

 other seemingly inaccessible and impreg- 

 nable rock, with a formidable fortress 

 menacing the landscape from its precipi- 

 tous height. 



This is San Leo, whose history, inter- 

 woven in primitive times with that of 

 San Marino, is of especial interest, in the 

 light of the littlest Republic's diverging 

 line of development. War and tyranny 

 ever disturbed the inhabitants of San Leo, 

 while peace and liberty blessed San 

 Marino. Tradition says the reason was 

 that the body of San Leo was removed 



from the country, while that of San 

 Marino remained — a powerful and vener- 

 ated relic. San Leo's grim fortress has 

 been the scene of dark deeds during the 

 successive political wars and the varied 

 turbulent epochs of Italian history. 

 Among its famous and infamous prison- 

 ers was Cagliostro, who died after six 

 years of suffering, in solitary confine- 

 ment. 



ITAI/Y HONORS THE UTTL,E REPUBLIC IN 

 ITS MIDST 



It is on the highest point of the Re- 

 public, 2,500 feet above sea-level, looking 

 from San Leo out over the scenes of vio- 

 lent history, that the story of San Marino 

 becomes picturesquely vital. Battles and 

 discords have rolled for centuries about 

 its feet, war has engulfed it, even as to- 

 day, and even as today it has maintained 

 its independence, its liberty, its heritage 

 of peace. 



The position of San Marino, 13 miles 

 from Rimini, is singular. This little Re- 



