Palazzo Pubblico, San Marino, San Marino by Billy Wilson Photography

My bicycle is leaning against the statue. &quot;The Palazzo Pubblico (‘Public Palace’) is the town hall of the City of San Marino as well as its official Government Building. The building, where official State ceremonies take place, is the seat of the Republic's main institutional and administrative bodies: the Captains Regent, the Grand and General Council, the Council of XII, and the Congress of State. The main section of the building is topped by battlements over a series of corbels. The clock tower above also features such an arrangement with battlements and corbels. The overall design is similar to the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, but on a much smaller scale. Located on the site of an ancient building called the Domus Magna Comunis, the current building was designed by the Roman architect Francesco Azzurri and was built between 1884 and 1894. After a hundred years of existence, it was becoming unsafe in today's standards, so a complex restoration project was undergone. The intervention was completed by the internationally renowned architect Gae Aulenti on 30 September 1996. The City of San Marino (Italian: Città di San Marino) (also known simply as San Marino or locally as Città) is the capital city of the Republic of San Marino, Southern Europe. The city has a population of 4,044. It is on the western slopes of San Marino's highest point, Monte Titano. San Marino (/ˌsæn məˈriːnoʊ/, Italian: [sam maˈriːno]), officially the Republic of San Marino (Italian: Repubblica di San Marino; Romagnol: Ripóbblica d' San Marein), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a microstate in Southern Europe completely enclosed by Italy. Located on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains, San Marino covers a land area of just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi), and has a population of 33,562. Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest settlement is Dogana. San Marino's official language is Italian. The country derives its name from Saint Marinus, a stonemason from the then Roman island of Rab, in modern-day Croatia. Born in AD 275, Marinus participated in the reconstruction of Rimini's city walls after their destruction by Liburnian pirates. Marinus then went on to found an independent monastic community on Monte Titano in AD 301; thus, San Marino lays claim to being the oldest extant sovereign state, as well as the oldest constitutional republic. San Marino's politics are ruled by its constitution, which dictates that every six months San Marino's parliament must elect two Captains Regent. The Captains Regent have equal powers, and are free to exercise them within the limits of the constitution and parliamentary legislation until their term expires. The country's economy is mainly based on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.&quot; - info from Wikipedia. Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos. Now on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/billyd.wilson/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Instagram</a>. Become a patron to my photography on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/billywilson" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Patreon</a>.