Notes on San Marino

isolay 30 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

> Their populations are content, their governments are highly functional, their economies hum along, and nothing of note has happened in any of them since World War II.

Another reminder that boring is good.

	▲	stana 7 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		"in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." (Harry Lime in the movie "The Third Man")
	▲	akurilin 7 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I've heard that kind of description used for Switzerland as well. Accurate?

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ykl 11 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This was a delightful read! I found the section on San Marino's political adventures in the 20th century particularly amusing; they did a mini version of everything else that was going on the world in the 20th century, but it turns out that when you're a small peaceful moderate country, it's hard for things to get too too out of hand at any given moment. Like yeah sure they had a Fascist period followed immediately by a Communist period, but apparently in the mildest way imaginable, and it's been mildly moderate ever since.

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EdwardDiego 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Fascinating read, especially about how San Marino stayed independent, love this writer's work.

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vivzkestrel 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

would be very interesting to see you spend 6 months in india and tour kashmir, kerala, north east india, west, cities, rural areas etc.

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arjie an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

This seems like one of those Florida retirement communities that are gated. Except it’s in Italy. Similar dynamic.

	▲	motionlessveloc 42 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		...did you read the article? San Marino is a bunch of random villages in the Italian countryside, indistinguishable from the Italian side except in the one pretty spot that gets all the tourists, and the one larger town near Rimini that has all the tax free shops etc. No gates, no Florida.