River · San Marino
San Marino River
San Marino River is the main watercourse of tiny San Marino, a country inside Italy. It leaves the mountain slopes and joins the Marecchia near the Italian village of Torello.
Where is the San Marino River?
The river starts here: slopes of Monte Titano in San Marino.
It ends in the the Marecchia near Torello, Italy.
Countries on the river: San Marino.
The story behind it
This is one of the shortest rivers in any encyclopedia, because the whole country is smaller than many cities. The water starts on the steep slopes below Monte Titano, the rocky mountain with three towers that stands on San Marino's flag. Grown-ups do not fully agree on its exact length, because in summer the bed can almost dry out and it is hard to say where the stream really begins. After heavy autumn rain, though, it can suddenly turn into a noisy brown torrent. It slips past small fields, garden walls and old stone bridges, and frogs, kingfishers and lizards live along its banks. Just outside the country it flows into the Marecchia, whose water carries on to the Adriatic Sea near the beaches of Rimini.
Questions children ask
How long is the San Marino River?
It is only about 8.7 kilometres long. The figure is not certain, because the stream nearly dries up in summer and its beginning is hard to pin down.
Which country does the San Marino River flow through?
It belongs to San Marino, one of the smallest countries in the world. Its last stretch already lies in Italy, which surrounds the little republic.
Where does the San Marino River end?
It flows into the Marecchia near the Italian hamlet of Torello. That river then carries the water to the Adriatic Sea.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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