European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tiny san Marino ready to take big Steps amps Ken George the peaks of san Marino Are topped by three Castle toners linked by a Walkway and looking Down on the Valley  Alan Cowell the new York times it has taken some time for the winds of change to sweep from the caucasus and the carpathians to Rocky san Marino the tiny country that forms a Graceful mole on Italy s thigh. But now san Marino which prides itself on being the world s oldest and the world s smallest Republic a and once prided itself too on its aloofness a is on its Way to joining the United nations just like some of the newly Independent former soviet republics. A few weeks ago the United nations Security Council unanimously approved the application possibly raising some eyebrows among cynical students of the organization. After All does a 24-sc Are mile chunk of crag and Valley topped by medieval fortresses Home to a resident population of 24,000 and surrounded by Italy meet the criteria of statehood id Ere along cobbled streets in a place of Stone stairways and Cren elated battlements the answer among government officials is a resounding yes. And the Security Council obviously agreed in voting on san Marino s application to transform its observer status at the United nations to full membership. But other questions seem to persist. One is Why now another is Why at All a it s no big Story Quot said Vittorio Cecchi who runs a t Ifo and bar. Quot there s no great interest in it  but As foreign minister Gabriele Gatti explained it the . Application was one More sign of san Marino s adjusting itself to a changing world where ideological divides have dissolved and its desire Quot to be present in the International  Quot the fact of sitting around the table with the most important states in the world is a reaffirmation of sovereignty lie Dot lured in a recent interview. Quot now Quot said Giovanni Zungoli a reporter who covers the Republic for an italian newspaper ii Resto Del Curling Quot they Are trying to adapt to the new reality and they Are emerging irom their splendid isolation. Isolation of course is a relative term restricted to diplomatic niceties last year some 3 million tourists walked through the alleyways of san Marino ate at its eateries bought the postage Stamps and coins that How from its official mint and clambered the paths and stairways that Lead to its three castles. They Are lured moreover by relatively lower prices on liquor electrical goods imported directly from Japan perfumes and furs. And while the Border with Italy is clearly marked there Are no passport or customs formalities for visitors and tourists. Quot italians no longer consider san Marino a foreign. Country Quot Mangoli said. The Republic was not always so at ease with outsiders. Quot up until 20 years ago Quot Gatti said Quot san Marino conducted a very closed policy. But since then it s been very  since its founding in the fourth Century according to legend by a Dalmatian Stonemason who took Refuge Here from persecution by the roman emperor Diocletian a the miniature state has survived As a political entity despite the attentions of an assortment of visitors. They included Napoleon who seemed sympathetic to it Cesare Borgia who virtually ran it for three years at the beginning of the 16th Century and the expansionist Giulio Cardinal Alberoni from the Vatican who occupied it for four months in the 18th Century. But it never lost its claim to statehood. A r a a amps file the government House is the Republic s official and ceremonial Center. A further intrusion came in world War in when Italy s fascists installed a puppet government that lasted until 1943. San Marino claimed neutrality in the War. In the latter stages of the War 100,000 italians took Refuge Here living in railway tunnels. Despite its Neutral status tatted planes bombed the Republic rain l 944, killing 60 people and German troops crossed the territory before the War ended in 1945. San Marino s ability to survive As an Independent state Gatti said Quot is a mystery for san Marino  Quot san Marino is very Small on a Mountain Quot he said. Quot it was not an easy place to conquer but it had no strategic  these Days some Here say the value is of a different kind. While around one third of its citizens a some 11,000 in addition to the 24,000 living Here a Are outside the country predominantly in Italy new York and Detroit those who have remained seem largely to Prosper. Quot san Marino was once a very poor country Quot Gatti said Quot now it s much  for some outsiders the state with its capital of 4,000 people seems no More than an adj net of Italy and privately some Here acknowledge that the authorities would not depart too abruptly from italian policies and practices Quot the Republic of san Marino is completely Independent from Italy Quot the foreign minister said. The mini state has its own government parliament elections judiciary bureaucracy License plates Laws fiscal practices and police Force. It is say san Marinese like Cecchi the cafe owner cheaper and cleaner than Italy. It even has separate garbage bins on the Street for used batteries and discarded medical dressings. On the other hand it has no newspaper or port of its own recruits policemen in Italy and uses italian Money even As it mints its own for Sale to collectors. Possibly the closest Affinity with Italy though lies in its politics. Since 1986, the country has been run by an unwieldy coalition of Christian democrats and communists who retitled themselves democratic socialists after the fall of the Berlin Wall. However just about at the same time the government was applying for admission to the United nations the Christian democrats quit the coalition to build another one with old time socialists. Quot crisis in san Marino Quot Small headlines in Italy read. But hardly anyone a in san Marino or out a seemed to notice. 24 stripes Magazine March 12, 1992