San Marino,officially the Republic of San Marino and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino,is a European microstate and enclave within Italy. Located on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains,it is the fifth-smallest country in the world,with a land area of just over 61 km2 and a population of 33,660,as of 2022.
As the only surviving medieval commune in the Italian Peninsula,the history of San Marino is intertwined with the medieval,Renaissance and modern-day history of the Italian peninsula,according to tradition beginning with its foundation in 301 AD.
San Marino is an independent and sovereign member of the international community. It maintains an extensive diplomatic network relative to its diminutive size,as well as an active foreign policy and international presence.
The Popular Alliance was a liberal-centrist political party in San Marino. The party formed a coalition with the Union for the Republic for the 2016 Sammarinese general election,and following their electoral success the two parties created a new party,Future Republic.
Currently,all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).
San Marino has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times,debuting in the 2008 contest,followed by participation from 2011 onward. The nation did not participate in 2009 or 2010,citing financial difficulties. Having failed to qualify in their first four attempts,the nation qualified for the contest's final for the first time in 2014. Valentina Monetta represented San Marino in 2012,2013 and 2014,making her the first entrant to participate in three consecutive contests since the 1960s. In 2019,Serhat managed to qualify to the final,marking the second appearance of the country in a Eurovision final and achieving their best result to date of 19th place. Following the 2020 contest's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe,their 2020 candidate Senhit was again selected to represent San Marino in the following contest. She qualified to the final,making it the first time that San Marino made it to two consecutive finals.
Ernesto Benedettini is a politician of San Marino. He was Captain Regent of San Marino for the term from 1 October 2008 to April 2009 together with Assunta Meloni. In March 2009,Meloni and Benedettini joined in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the San Marino National Olympic Committee.
Pact for San Marino was a centrist coalition of parties for the 2008 general election in San Marino.
Giorgia Meloni is an Italian politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Italy since October 2022,the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006,she has led the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) political party since 2014,and she has been the president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party since 2020. She is usually described as a far-right politician.
San Marino is a small landlocked country with an area of about 61.2 km2 (23.6 sq mi) on a rocky promontory at an elevation of 657 meters (2,156 ft) in central Italy. In 2023,the population was 33,636. It is the third smallest country in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco. It is traditionally held to have been founded as a republic in 301 AD,was recognized by the Papacy in 1631,and became a member of the United Nations in 1992. As of 2009,the ethnic composition was about 84.95% Sammarinese,14.6% Italians and others.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011,held in Düsseldorf,Germany. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) confirmed the country's second participation in the contest on 22 November 2010,marking their return after not participating in 2009 and 2010. Italian singer Senhit Zadik Zadik,under the stage name Senit,was internally selected by SMRTV to represent San Marino with the song "Stand By". The entry was promoted through the creation of a music video,a promotional tour throughout Europe and an interview to the press in the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. San Marino performed 12th in the first semi-final,held on 10 May 2011,and placed 16th,receiving 34 points and failing to qualify for the final.
Relations between the Republic of San Marino and the European Union (EU) began in February 1983. San Marino is completely surrounded by one EU member state,Italy.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012,held in Baku,Azerbaijan. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Valentina Monetta with "The Social Network Song" to represent the nation in the contest. SMRTV had initially proposed a different version of the song,titled "Facebook Uh,Oh,Oh",but was instructed to modify or replace the entry due to concerns relating to commercial messaging. The entry was promoted through the creation of a music video,a promotional tour throughout Europe and interviews to the press in the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. San Marino performed 11th in the first semi-final,held on 22 May 2012,and placed 14th,receiving 31 points and failing to qualify for the grand final. This marked their best placing in the contest to this point.
Valentina Monetta is a Sammarinese singer. She is best known for representing San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012,2013,2014,and 2017. In the 2014 contest,Monetta became the first entrant to qualify for the final for San Marino.
Brothers of Italy is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy,that is currently the country's ruling party. It became the largest party after the 2022 Italian general election. The party is led by Giorgia Meloni,the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy. Meloni's tenure has been described as the "most right-wing" republican government since World War II,whilst her time in government is frequently described as a shift towards the far-right in Italian politics.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013,held in Malmö,Sweden. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Valentina Monetta with "Crisalide (Vola)" to represent the nation in the contest. Monetta had previously represented San Marino at the 2012 contest,placing 14th in the semi-finals. The 2013 entry was promoted through the creation of a music video,a promotional tour that included stops in London and Amsterdam,and interviews to the press in the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. San Marino performed second in the second semi-final,held on 16 May 2013,and placed 11th,receiving 47 points and failing to qualify for the grand final. However,this marked the nation's best placing to this point.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014,held in Copenhagen,Denmark. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Valentina Monetta with "Maybe" to represent the nation in the contest. Monetta had previously represented San Marino in both the 2012 and 2013 contests,though both entries failed to qualify for the grand final. The 2014 entry was promoted through the creation of music videos in both English and Italian,and a promotional tour that included stops in Amsterdam,Moscow and London. San Marino performed 12th in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014,held on 6 May 2014,and placed 10th,receiving 40 points. The entry qualified for the grand final held four days later,where the nation placed 24th with 14 points. This marked their best placing to this point.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015,held in Vienna,Austria. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola with "Chain of Lights" to represent the nation in the contest. Both Simoncini and Perniola had previously represented San Marino in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest on separate occasions. The 2015 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest was promoted through the creation of a music video,a tour that included a stop in Moscow and a contest on social media that awarded prizes to winning participants. San Marino performed third in the second semi-final,held on 21 May 2015,and placed 16th with 11 points,failing to qualify for the final.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017,held in Kyiv,Ukraine. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Sammarinese singer Valentina Monetta and American singer Jimmie Wilson with "Spirit of the Night" to represent the nation in the contest. Monetta had previously represented San Marino as a solo artist on three previous occasions. The 2017 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest was promoted through the creation of a music video and promotional performances in Tel Aviv,Amsterdam and Madrid. San Marino performed 10th in the second semi-final,held on 11 May 2017,and placed 18th with one point,failing to qualify for the final.
San Marino planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020,which was scheduled to be held in Rotterdam,Netherlands. Italian singer Senhit was chosen to represent the nation with her song "Freaky!". Sammarinese broadcaster San Marino RTV (SMRTV) internally selected the singer,while her song was selected through a national final entitled Digital Battle. Senhit previously represented San Marino in the 2011 contest,but failed to qualify for the final. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe during 2020,the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled in mid-March 2020. "Freaky!" was subsequently an entry for several replacement events including Eurovision:Europe Shine a Light,Der kleine Song Contest and Sveriges 12:a. Senhit announced during the former of the three that she would return to represent the nation at the 2021 contest the following year.
