San Quirino, the church of a failed attack and of Garibaldi

The church of San Quirino is missing from most itineraries, which strikes me as unfair, because it holds two of the stories that best explain San Marino. One is about an attack that failed and that the Republic celebrated for centuries. The other is about Garibaldi, who arrived on the run and said goodbye to his men here.

A church to say thank you

According to Wikipedia, building began around 1549 or 1550 to commemorate the attempt by Fabiano da Monte San Savino to occupy San Marino on 4 June 1543. It was St Quirinus’s feast day, and since the coup came to nothing, the General Assembly of 30 May 1547 decided to celebrate the saint for ever in thanks. The church went up on the site of an older shrine to the saint and was consecrated in 1709. It belongs to the Capuchin friars, which is why nearly everyone calls it the Capuchin church.

I like the story because it sums up the country’s character. San Marino didn’t survive by winning wars but by getting out of the ones that came its way, then giving each narrow escape its own church and date. The full timeline is in the history of San Marino.

Garibaldi’s portico

The best-known episode comes three centuries later. On 31 July 1849, fleeing Rome once the Roman Republic had collapsed, Giuseppe Garibaldi took refuge in San Marino and, according to Wikipedia, formally disbanded his legion under the portico of this church. The night before, says the Fiorentino council, his troops had stopped to drink at that castello’s Vascone, which I cover in Fiorentino. I’d stand under those arches for a moment, knowing what happened there, before going in.

What’s inside

The building is late Renaissance, in stone and brick, with an arcaded loggia on the front. Inside, Wikipedia highlights a 16th-century Deposition of Christ attributed to Taddeo Zuccari, or to him together with his brother Federico. There’s also a plaque put up on 4 June 1943, the 400th anniversary of the attack, with a curious detail. Its last two lines, naming the Regents of the day, Marino Michelotti and Bartolomeo Manzoni Borghesi, were erased after the war because of their political sympathies during the conflict. If you spot it, it’s one of those small things that says a lot about San Marino’s 20th century.

I haven’t found visiting hours in any official source. Since it’s in regular use, I’d aim for mid-morning and avoid Mass times. If you want a date with meaning, 4 June is St Quirinus’s day, the one the Republic chose to celebrate for ever in 1547. I haven’t found an official programme for it, so treat it as a nice reason to time your visit rather than a guaranteed event.

In your purse

The ECB describes the 5-cent coin of San Marino’s second series as showing «the Church of St Quirinus». The 2-cent coin carries the city gate, which is Porta San Francesco, a couple of minutes away. If hunting for these coins appeals, I explain more in San Marino coins and stamps.

Getting there

It’s in the City, outside Porta San Francesco, on the square where a monument to St Francis has stood since 1928, designed by the architect Edoardo Collamarini with a bronze statue by Silverio Montaguti. From here the San Francesco Art Gallery is just through the gate, while my guide to the City of San Marino covers the rest. A wing of the Capuchin convent next to the church has been San Marino prison since 1970, and it is not open to visitors.