A closer look 說古論今
Taiwan is surrounded by water, but San Marino is surrounded by another country. It is a small independent nation located in the northern half of Italy, and one of the smallest countries in the world. It is so small that the population of Neihu district in Taipei alone is about 10 times greater than San Marino's!
San Marino may be small, but it has a lot of culture and history. It claims to have become independent in 301, which would make it the oldest republic in the world. It shares many of the same cultural traits as Italy, including love of wine, cheese and soccer. However, San Marino's national soccer team hasn't enjoyed the same success that the Italian team has. In its international soccer competition history, it has won just one in over 70 matches. Car racing is another popular sport, but the country is too small to hold its own race. Instead, the San Marino Grand Prix is held 100km north in Italy.
Even though San Marino has a lot of cultural ties with Italy, which is a much bigger and more powerful country, it still proudly defends its independence. The people of San Marino elect their own leaders and make their own laws independent of Italy. In 1862 the two countries signed a friendship treaty asserting San Marino's independence, and it is still in use today.
台灣四面環海，但聖馬利諾共和國卻座落在另一個國家境內。聖馬利諾是一個面積不大的獨立國，位於義大利北半部，是全世界幅員最小的國家之一。聖馬利諾如此迷你，光是台北市內湖區的人口就比聖馬利諾要多十倍！
聖馬利諾也許狹小，但卻擁有豐富的歷史與文化。聖馬利諾聲稱早在西元三○一年就已獨立，讓這個國家成為全世界最古老的共和國。聖馬利諾與義大利有許多相同的文化特徵，包括熱愛飲酒、起司與足球。然而，聖馬利諾國家足球隊卻未與義大利隊享有同樣的成功。歷史上聖馬利諾參加過七十多場國際足球賽，只有贏過一次。賽車是聖馬利諾另一項廣受歡迎的運動，但由於這個國家實在太小了，所以無法自己舉辦賽車賽。相反的，聖馬利諾一級方程式賽車賽實際上是在一百公里外的義大利北部舉行的。
雖然聖馬利諾與義大利在文化上有許多連結，義大利卻強大許多，不過聖馬利諾仍驕傲地捍衛自己的獨立地位。聖馬利諾人民可以選舉自己國家的領導人，也不依靠義大利來創造自己的法令。一八六二年時，這兩國簽署友好條款，維護聖馬利諾的獨立狀態，這個條款迄今適用。
PHOTO:AP
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