Diane Fleming, age 14, of Patterson, N.J., for her question:

WHERE IN EUROPE IS SAN MARINO?

San Marino is the smallest republic in Europe. It is only 24 square miles in area. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains in northern Italy near the Adriatic Sea.

Tiny San Marino is completely surrounded by Italian territory.

San Marino's capital is a walled city of about 5,000 persons and it is located on Mount Titano. The capital city's name is also San Marino.

The country's 20,000 citizens speak Italian and they are closely related to the people of northern Italy. But they are proud of their independence and their traditions.

The small country's chief sources of income are the tourist trade and postage stamps. About 2 million tourists visit San Marino every year.

The country was founded in the A.D. 300s by Marinus, a Christian stone mason from Dalmatia, who sought refuge from persecution by the Romans.

San Marino has many fine historical buildings, including a church built in the 1300s.