Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of San Marino

Ethnicity

Most of the citizens of San Marino are considered Sammarinese, which is arguably a distinct ethnic group. According to tradition, the founder of the country was from an island off the Dalmatian coast and many of the people today are descended from him and his followers, implying the genetic make-up of the Sammarinese may be a combination of historic people from that coast (which is today part of Croatia) and Latin due to Italian influence; in reality the people are almost entirely Latin, but there are enough ethnic differences that the Sammarinese claim a distinct ethnicity and few argue. Obviously, the Sammarinese's closest relatives are the Italians and the Italians also make the up largest minority group in the country.

Language

The official language of San Marino is Italian, which is a Romance language based on Latin. Most people in San Marino speak a dialect of Italian called Emiliano-Romagnolo, which is the same dialect that is spoken in the region of Italy adjacent to San Marino. Many people in San Marino also speak English as a second language.

Religion

San Marino was founded by Christians fleeing prosecution and today the country is still predominately Catholic, although there is no officially recognized religion in the country.

Catholicism is a Christian religion that is one of the first Christian religions (founded after the death of Jesus in about 30-33 AD). Catholicism believes that there is a single God who created everything, a savior, the son of God, Jesus Christ who is the forgiver of sins, and there is the Holy Spirit, which makes up the last part of the Holy Trinity. Catholics follow the teachings of the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments. Much of the faith is based on the life and teachings of Jesus, which is found in the gospels (in the New Testament).

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This page was last updated: May, 2014