At 739 metres, Mount Titan is not an imposing peak, and from the bus stop in the city, the summit can be achieved in a good half-hour walk.
There are three summits, Guaita, Cesta and Montale, each topped with an ancient tower, part of the San Marino fortifications.
Though the summits can be reached by walking the streets to an upper parking lot, I opt to take the hiking trail from the south, where I meet fewer people and have the lookouts to myself.
It’s foggy on this day and I’m quick to take photos of the countryside when there is a short break in the mist.
I hope to see some wildlife, perhaps a deer or a boar, fingers crossed to see a hedgehog or a fox, but I see nothing, not even a nearby bird.
At the main summit, where the bulk of the fortifications stand, I am surrounded by tourists and tourist kiosks.
The contrast of the solitude and peacefulness of the trail only two hundred metres to the south and this peak is astounding.
I wander around the stalls, climb and descend a handful of stone stairways, take some photos of the stone fortifications and the Basilica di San Marino, and take my leave back down the hiking trail.
