The Basilica of Saint Marinus is dedicated to the patron saint of the city and State. It is located on a little square called Piazzale Domus Plebis and it is shown on San Marino euro 10 cent coins.
Inside it has a nave and two isles. The high altar is decorated with a statue of Saint Marinus as a deacon sculpted by Tadolini, a an apprentice of Canova. Under the altar are the relics of the Saint, which was found on 3 March 1586, while on 28 January 1595, some of the bones were donated to the people of the Isle of Rab (Croatia), where Marinus was born. Since 2 September 1602, ia portion of the skull of Saint Marinus is kept in the Sacred Case, a silver and golden bust placed in a chapel on the right of the high altar. On the right side of the altar you will see the Throne of the Captains Regent.
Several protagonists of San Marino’s history were buried inside the Basilica: Pietro Tonnini, Marino Fattori and Gian Battista Bonelli, a Secretary General of the Republic who was shot on 14 July 1853. Moreover, you will see monuments and gravestones dedicated to remarkable San Marino’s people such as the cenotaph of Antonio Onofri, Father of the Nation, and the dedication to Bartolomeo Borghesi.
Do you want to know other anecdotes and stories about the place where our centuries-old history began? Book one of our tours.
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