Republic of San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
.
Language
San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous language, known as
Sammarinese
Sammarinese () are citizens and people of the Republic of San Marino.
Language
San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous language, known as Sammarinese, is a variety of Romagnol spoken by approximately 83 percent o ...
, is a variety of
Romagnol
Romagnol ( or ; it, romagnolo) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in the historical region of Romagna, consisting mainly of the southeastern part of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The name is derived from the Lombard language, Lombard name ...
spoken by approximately 83 percent of the population.
Religion
Although historically San Marino fought against the political control of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, most Sammarinese people are
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, but there is no
state religion
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
. Many of San Marino's official ceremonies are held in the
Basilica di San Marino
The Basilica di San Marino is a Catholic church located in the Republic of San Marino. While the country has a distinct domination of historic religious buildings of Christian faith, the basilica is the main church of the City of San Marino. It ...
, the republic's main church, or in other churches. There are a total of nine Catholic
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
all of which comprise the
Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro
The Italian Catholic Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro was until 1977 the historic Diocese of Montefeltro. It is a Latin suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.