Home to many of the world's greatest works of art, architecture and gastronomy, Italy elates, inspires and moves like no other.
Of Earth's 196 independent countries, San Marino is the fifth smallest and – arguably – the most curious. How it exists at all is something of an enigma. A sole survivor of Italy's once powerful city-state network, this landlocked micronation clung on long after the more powerful kingdoms of Genoa and Venice folded. And still it endures, secure in its status as the world's oldest surviving sovereign state and its oldest republic (since AD 301).
These are the top experiences and sights in Italy, Vatican City and San Marino, according to Lonely Planet.
