Basilica of San Marino

Basilica of San Marino tickets: which one to buy

Entry is free with a donation box. The adjoining Church of St Peter, cut into the rock behind the basilica, is also free and takes two minutes. Nothing here is ticketed. San Marino's state museums, the fortress towers and the tower walk are sold on a combined card that does not include the basilica, which confuses some visitors. The republic is reached by bus from Rimini in about fifty minutes for a few euros, then a cable car or a walk up into the old town;

the basilica is at the top, on the eastern edge of the ridge, five minutes from the government palace. Guided tours of San Marino include it and cost several times the bus fare. Nothing needs booking outside the changing of the guard ceremonies in summer. The tourist office by the cable car stamps passports for a small fee, which is the souvenir most visitors leave with.

Visiting Basilica of San Marino: what to see

Marinus, a stonemason from the Dalmatian island of Rab, is said to have fled persecution and founded a Christian community on Monte Titano in 301, which San Marino counts as the beginning of the oldest surviving republic in the world. A church has stood over his grave since the fourth century, and the present neoclassical building replaced a ruined medieval one in 1836 to a design by Antonio Serra: a portico of eight Corinthian columns, a plain pedimented front and a bright interior with sixteen columns down the nave.

The relics of St Marinus lie under the high altar, with his skull in a silver reliquary. A statue of the saint stands behind the altar, and the throne of the captains regent, the republic's two heads of state, sits to one side, used at the twice-yearly investiture ceremonies. Below the basilica, the Church of St Peter is carved into the rock and holds two stone beds said to have been used by Marinus and his companion Leo.

Basilica of San Marino opening hours and the best time to go

Open daily from morning to evening with shorter hours in winter. The basilica is at the highest end of the town and the walk up from the cable car takes ten minutes on steep paved streets. San Marino fills with day trippers from the Adriatic beaches between June and September and is quiet the rest of the year; winter brings fog that hides the view entirely.

The investitures of the captains regent on 1 April and 1 October involve a procession to the basilica in medieval dress. Dress modestly. Photography is allowed. Allow twenty minutes. The three towers along the ridge, reached by a walking path, are the reason most people come and take a further two hours. The republic's Christmas market runs through December and fills the streets between the basilica and the government palace.