DBWI Challenge: San Marino Survives Until The Present Day

[vorkosigan]

San Marino was a tiny state in Italy , apparently founded in AD 301 as Chrstian Community by a stonecutter called Marinus the Dalmatian. It was annexed by one of its neighbours in the Middle Ages and so disappeared from history. The only reason that people ever hear of the place today is that the local football team is "San Marino" and plays in one of the lower Italian leagues.

So my challenge is - come up with a way for San Marino to exist as an independent state to the present day, with its own flag, international football team etc. Absurdly unlikely , I know, but .....

Bonus points if Napoleon still conquers northern Italy and Mussolini still comes to power in the rest of Italy!


OOC : I haven't posted anything here for four years(!) but been lurking recently and I'm almost awestruck by the quality of some of the timelines....

 

[Xgentis]

I can't see how Italy would tolerate it's existence, it would undermine the autority of the italian government. Like the french did to Monaco after the proclamation of the third republic in 1871 they would annex it during the italian unification.

 

[mlp]

OOC : I haven't posted anything here for four years(!) but been lurking recently and I'm almost awestruck by the quality of some of the timelines....

Awestruck as in a good way, or a bad way?
Anyway, how were things 4 years ago on AH.com? Lotsa mammals crossing the English Channel?

 

[vorkosigan]

Awestruck as in a good way, or a bad way?
Anyway, how were things 4 years ago on AH.com? Lotsa mammals crossing the English Channel?

Awestruck in a good way... To pick some favourites .... Protect and Survive, Green Antarctica, Fear and Loathing and Gumbo, Romulus Augustulus ....

 

[Sian]

if we're trying to find plausible citystates for continued existence, neither Monaco nor San Marino would be the first considerations IMO. Unless the PoD is very isolated to southern Europe, primary contenders would be the Free Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. Even Danzig would have a greater chance (although still rather tiny).

 

[Alex Richards]

Hmm. Perhaps Papal protection might be in order?

Or maybe they pursue a policy of being utterly unobtrusive and everyone else forgets they actually exist?

 

[Xgentis]

Hmm. Perhaps Papal protection might be in order?

Or maybe they pursue a policy of being utterly unobtrusive and everyone else forgets they actually exist?

Didn't work for Liechtenstein and they tried very hard to be forgotten by Austria and Switzerland.

 

[Legend-in-Exile]

Had to google the place, but it seems a fairly out if the way place in rough terrain, so defense should be possible, perhaps playing larger neighbours against each other, which could work rather well until Italian unification...then they would be out of luck.

OOC did not have to google it. Euro and World cup qualifiers make San Marini a source of 6 points for everyone in their group.

 

[Sian]

Didn't work for Liechtenstein.

ehh ... worked as far as me forgetting they existed

 

[Lalli]

I don't see that state like San Marino can survive. And if I remember correctly, it was totally landlocked state. Not help very much. Venice had much better changes.

 

[PulkitNahata]

My guess would be for some reason the Papcy moves from Rome to San Marino. Like Rome it would be till date a separate state.

 

[ramones1986]

Is San Marino actually the capital of the Italian region of Romagna?

 

[vorkosigan]

Is San Marino actually the capital of the Italian region of Romagna?

Good question - I think it might have been, temporarily , in the time of Napoleon, but the current capital of the Romagna region is Forli.

 

[glenn67]

Wasn't San Marino a duchy in the 19th century?

 

[Lalli]

Wasn't San Marino a duchy in the 19th century?

Napoleon tried re-create San Marino on early 19th century but he failed. Anybody wasn't intrested. Real city state of San Marino wasn't exist since 14th century.

 

[ramones1986]

Good question - I think it might have been, temporarily , in the time of Napoleon, but the current capital of the Romagna region is Forli.

Nevertheless, San Marino is still regarded as its cultural capital; I think the Romagna studios of RAI are on its outskirts.

 

[vorkosigan]

Napoleon tried re-create San Marino on early 19th century but he failed. Anybody wasn't intrested. Real city state of San Marino wasn't exist since 14th century.

But even if Napoleon had recreated a independent San Marino,how would it survive the reunification of Italy, and more to the point, how would it survive Mussolini? It's about as likely as Hitler allowing a independent city state inside the boundaries of Nazi Germany...

 

[GeographyDude]

Hmm. Perhaps Papal protection might be in order?

Would work for a while. But I just can't see it continuously working for centuries.