A community around the parish church
The Placito Feretrano is an 11th-century copy of an original document of 885. To 951 dates instead a deed of King Berengar II of Italy, drafted in plebe Sancti Marini. The two documents attest the existence of a community gathering around the parish church of San Marino.
Arengo and two Consuls
For a formal record of the communal order one must wait until 1243. A notarial deed of that year describes a structure with an Arengo of family heads holding legislative power, governed by two Consuls in office for only six months, in order to prevent the prolonged concentration of powers. The first two recorded representatives are Filippo da Sterpeto and Oddone Scarito. The Arengo begins drafting the Statutes that regulate the life of the Commune.
From 4 km² to the present extent
The foreign policy of the small Commune aims at enlarging the territory. In a short time it grows from a nucleus of about 4 km² to 27 km², roughly half the present extent. Communal life is, however, threatened on several fronts: the bishops of the Montefeltro, of Rimini and of Ravenna seek to control it. Several attempts to impose tolls and tributes are rejected by the population, which goes so far as to appeal directly to Pope Boniface VIII.
«Man is born free, and possesses what is his, and for this owes nothing to anyone, save to Our Lord Jesus Christ.»
Fortifications and treaties
In the fourteenth century the Commune strengthens its fortifications until the mountain becomes impregnable and a steady supply of arms is secured. On the internal side, the Arengo turns into the Great and General Council composed of sixty representatives, while the Consuls change their designation to Captains or Rectors (Capitaneus seu Rector).
In the fifteenth century the territory experiences a new expansion, thanks to the support of the dukes of Urbino in the wars against the Malatesta of Rimini. The treaty signed at Fossombrone with the Pope in 1462 delivers to San Marino the court of Fiorentino, the Castelli of Montegiardino and adjacent lands, the castle of Serravalle with its jurisdictions. In 1463 Faetano is added. The Republic reaches the extent it still keeps today, of 61.19 km².
The gesture of the Pope, returning extensive territories to the small State, represents the concrete recognition of San Marino's actual independence. The story continues with the events of the period from the 16th to the 19th century, marked by the occupation of Cesare Borgia and the relations with Napoleon.