Saturday, June 17, 2017

San Marino: Land of the Wax Begonia





San Marino, San Marino, San Marino





I have wanted to visit San Marino for years, hearing about the small country completely surrounded by Italy during my freshman year of high school. The castles and the cliffs captivated me, as well as the fact that from a single spot in another country you can observe the Italian coast and the Apennines mountains.

When we got there, however, the first thing that I noticed wasn’t the gorgeous view, the rocky cliffs, or the majestic castles. I noticed the wax begonias. They were everywhere in the town of San Marino, dotting the country with vibrant shades of red, white, and green (ironic because these are the colors of Italy’s flag and not San Marino’s flag, which are white and sky blue). Other plants common to the country were holly bushes and pine trees. It was very neat to see many of the plants we learned about!

Another thing we encountered were Corinthian columns which we learned in class were distinguished by the acanthus leaves on them. They were on both the inside and the outside of the Basilica of San Marino, with definitely prominent acanthus leaves.

It was such a nice thing to see so many of the elements we learned about Italian gardens not only in Italy, but in the tiny nation of San Marino as well!

Chris Anderson

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