San Marino flag

San Marino: a tiny sovereign republic inside northern Italy, not part of it.

San Marino is a country of its own, with its own government, passports, stamps and euro coins, not an Italian town or region. It sits on and around Mount Titano in the Apennines near Rimini, is one of the smallest states in the world, and by tradition dates its founding to the year 301, when a stonemason named Marinus fled Roman persecution to the mountain. On that account it calls itself the oldest republic still standing. Its people speak Italian and call themselves Sammarinese.

The flag is white above light blue, colours traditionally read as the clouds and snow over Mount Titano and the sky around it. In the centre is the state coat of arms: three towers on three green peaks, each tower topped with an ostrich feather, framed by oak and laurel branches, under a crown and above a scroll reading LIBERTAS, Latin for liberty. The three towers are real: Guaita, Cesta and Montale stand on the mountain's three summits and are what every visitor photographs. The crown stands for sovereignty, not a king; San Marino has never had one. At emoji size most screens shrink the crest to a coloured smudge, so the white-over-blue split is the quickest tell.

What does 🇸🇲 mean when someone sends it?

Pride in, a visit to, or support for San Marino.

Beside a name or in a bio it says the person is from San Marino or has family there. In a travel post it marks a day out from Rimini or the Adriatic coast, usually alongside 🇮🇹 for the rest of the holiday. Beside a score it is the national football team, which plays almost every match as the lowest-ranked side in the world and whose rare goals get celebrated far beyond its borders. Motorsport fans use it for the San Marino Grand Prix in MotoGP, held at Misano just over the border in Italy, and Eurovision fans for the country's entries, which it has sent since 2008.

The costly mistake is treating it as a regional flag of Italy. The Sammarinese are proud of more than a thousand years of independence, and replying "nice, Italy!" lands badly.