Borgo Maggiore, San Marino

Borgo Maggiore is one of the nine municipalities called castelli in the Republic of San Marino. It’s actually the second largest municipality in the republic and its main market town. Borgo Maggiore and San Marino historic centers together with Mount Titano are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.

We stayed in San Marino City and thoroughly explored it (still need to blog about it ) but I also visited Borgo Maggiore. You can admire the main square of Borgo Maggiore from the viewing point next to the cable car station in San Marino City. Besides, you actually drive through Borgo on your way to San Marino City high up on Mount Titano. However, I really enjoy cable car rides so I decided to go down to Borgo Maggiore for a short walk while my husband and the baby stayed in San Marino. Plus, it was nice to have some alone time.

The cable car which connects San Marino City to Borgo Maggiore was built in 1959 and since then it’s become a convenient form of public transport as well as a tourist attraction. The return ticket costs only € 4,50 and the ride lasts 2 minutes. Since I had the TuttoSanMarino Card which you get free if you stay at a hotel in San Marino I paid even less for my return ticket. There’s also a stone footpath from Borgo Maggiore to San Marino so if you’re fit enough and feel like walking uphill for hours you don’t need to use the cable car.

I enjoyed my short and slow cable car ride but unfortunately I didn’t manage to take any really good photos during it because there were a lot of people in the cable car.  Nevertheless, the cable car ride was quite scenic since you can see almost all the way to the Adriatic Sea. There’s a bar and a souvenir shop at the cable car station in Borgo Maggiore.

the main square in Borgo Maggiore

I exited the cable car station and went upstairs to the main road. Just across the road is the historic center of Borgo Maggiore. The main square (Piazza Grande) still hosts a traditional weekly market on Thursdays. It’s a rather pleasant medium-sized square with the Clock Tower and the Church of SS Antimo and Marinus. If you look up at the clock tower you can see the word Libertas (freedom) just above the doors. Freedom is a very important concept in the Republic of San Marino and they have managed to stay independent throughout the centuries.  The church of SS Antimo and Marinus was built on the remains of a chapel from 15th ct but it has been enlarged in 18th century.

I wandered around the square and the side streets for a bit and took some photos before I returned to the cable car station from another direction.

Apart from the historic center you can also visit the Museum of Natural History in Borgo Maggiore as well as the modern church of Our Lady of Consolation. When I finished my short sightseeing of Borgo Magiore I bought a cute souvenir T-shirt for my baby boy before I went back up to San Marino City to join my family.

After our trip I read up more about San Marino and found a rather interesting piece of information about Borgo Maggiore. The country’s only heliport is situated in Borgo Maggiore but I didn’t see it during my cable car ride.

Have you seen my photo post of San Marino City?

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