The “special situation” of the external relations of the Republic of San Marino in recent times

Starting from Declaration no. 3 on Article 8 of the Treaty on European Union, addressed to small-sized European States, this essay intends to investigate, from a historical point of view, the “special situation” of the external relations of the Republic of San Marino. For geographical reasons, these events are combined with San Marino’s particular situation of being an enclave in the Italian territory, from which specific and ever-changing relations with Italy derive. Geography has always marked the Republic’s external relations. In the light of the historical period of reference and the interlocutors with whom the Republic came into contact, this essay seeks to demonstrate the conditions imposed by geography, but also the opportunities that enabled it to “go beyond” such geography, contrary to what imposed by its physical characteristics. Drawing mainly from San Marino historiographic sources, and thanks to the results of archive research carried out, the historical reconstruction aims at reconstructing the main bilateral events between San Marino and Italy during the long period before Italian Unification. Subsequently, the most significant events and specificities of the equally long period of the Italian State’s building are highlighted, including the events of the Italian Risorgimento and the most important facts of the early years of the Italian Republic. Finally, when dealing with the start of the European integration process, some specific initiatives taken by the Republic of San Marino to investigate particular aspects of Declaration no. 3 are addressed.