Within the Italian Peninsula, a few independent city states exist. These are surrounded entirely by the country of Italy, and the people speak Italian, but they are independent.
The most famous of these city-states is the Vatican where the Pope of the Catholic Church resides. This is a very interesting area with a great deal of history and beautiful buildings and paintings and other objet d'art. Because of its importance, we find lots of spoons from this area.
This symbol is frequently found as the finial on spoons from the Vatican
St. Peter's Basilica and Square
St. Peter's Basilica in bowl. I am unsure of the metal purity and there are no marks. Scanner lines in bowl.
sterling silver Pope Leo Xlll spoon
The Pope Leo Xlll (1878 - 1903) spoon dates to the 1890's and was made in the USA by Watson (Mechanics division)
St Peter's Basilica finial and a nice scallop shell shaped bowl (800 silver)
San Marino is a completely independent nation and a member of the U.N. It has been independent since 301 A. D. when a Christian stonemason called Marinus the Dalmation hid from the anti-Christian Roman Emperor Diocletian on the peak of the beautiful, foreboding and easily defended Mount Titano. The total land area of the country is 61 square km. It is completely surrounded by Italy. The citizens speak Italian. The famed San Marino Grand Prix is not actually held in the country itself but in the vicinity. The founding day, September 3rd, is celebrated with a world renowned crossbow competition and a nation-wide bingo game.
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