Falciano, San Marino's northern countryside by the border

Most people who say they’ve been to Falciano have really been to its car park. This is the northern curazia where San Marino’s outlet sits, and for plenty of visitors that’s all the name means. I think that’s a shame, because Serravalle’s official page describes something else entirely, an old farming village of centuries-old olive trees. Below are both sides, and where it slots into a day that begins in Rimini.

Olive trees before shops

Falciano belongs to Serravalle, the most populous castello, just as Dogana does. Wikipedia places it at the northern tip of San Marino, next to Dogana and the border with the Italian municipality of Coriano. The difference from its neighbour is one of character. Dogana is road, shops and a border without checks; Falciano was always countryside.

The same source says that as early as the 15th century large plots here were given over to olives, later joined by cereals and vines, with a big vineyard around Le Bosche. The government stresses the ancient olive trees and adds the other half of the story, as the number of residents has grown remarkably over the past decade. It’s the same thing you see across the north of the country, farmland slowly filling with houses.

The vineyards of Falciano Alta

If you’re after agricultural San Marino, this is the bit for you. Cantina San Marino, the former Consorzio Vini Tipici winery in which the State has a stake, lists Falciano Alta, around Cinque Vie, among its sites for sangiovese and cabernet. It also says biancale, now the most planted white grape in the country, grows mainly here, in Serravalle and in Faetano. For me that’s the best reason to leave the outlet and head up the hill. Wines, visits and tastings are covered in San Marino wine.

St Peter’s church and the September festival

The heart of the village is the parish of St Peter the Apostle, at Via dei Paceri 11. Wikipedia says the church and its bell tower, built in 1957, have been restored in recent years. The diocese publishes Mass times, with two on Sundays at 8:30 and 11:00, and puts the main festival on the third Sunday of September, for Our Lady of Sorrows. In the official 2024 calendar it fell on 14 and 15 September, and that year there was also a summer supper with music in the Parco degli Ulivi on 6 July. The 2026 calendar hasn’t been published.

San Marino Outlet

Now the side everyone knows. At number 41 on Strada degli Angariari, San Marino Outlet bills itself as 50 shops with 30 to 70% off all year round. It opens seven days a week from 10:00 to 20:00, with free covered parking for cars, motorbikes and bikes, eight free EV chargers, left luggage, a cash machine and a children’s play area. Dogs on leads are welcome, which is handy if yours is travelling with you.

What really sets it apart is tax-free shopping at the till, an instant discount for shoppers from outside Italy and San Marino who meet certain conditions. I won’t repeat the small print here, as it’s all in my guide to shopping and tax refunds. My advice is not to come to San Marino just for the outlet, but if you’re driving past anyway, the bus makes it very easy.

The country’s lowest point?

You’ll often read that San Marino’s lowest point is in Falciano, by the Marano stream. It makes sense, as this is the northernmost corner and the closest to the coastal plain. But the number doing the rounds doesn’t appear in any official source I’ve read, so treat it as hearsay rather than fact. What I do know is that the national winery puts its lowest vineyards, at around 50 metres, in neighbouring Dogana.

Getting there and around

Bonelli’s shuttle from Rimini has its own outlet stop, and with a ticket to the capital you can get off, pick up a voucher at the Info Point and continue later at no extra cost; the details are in Rimini to San Marino. Within the country, AASS lines 7 and 47 serve Falciano on weekdays on their way to Rovereta, and climb to the capital via Dogana, Serravalle and Borgo Maggiore. On Sundays there’s SMUVI. By car, Falciano is a couple of minutes from Dogana, so I’d leave it for the drive home, once you’ve seen the towers and have an hour to spare.