Eurovision Song Contest
The country has a long and rich musical tradition, closely linked to that of Italy, but which is also highly independent in itself. In the 17th century, composers like the Sammarinese Francesco Maria Marini di Pesaro wrote some of the finest pieces of the era.
San Marino entered the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, in 2008, with the band, Miodio, singing "Complice". The group failed to make it to the final from the first semi-final and finished 19th out of a field of 19 with 5 points. They came behind Estonia's Kreisiraadio who came 18th with 8 points. San Marino gave its first ever highest (12) points to Greece.
In 2011 San Marino decided to come back to the Eurovision Song Contest with Senit singing the song "Stand By". She finished 16th in a field of 19 in the semi-final, coming behind Croatia's Daria Kinzer with the song "Celebrate" and coming in front of Norway's Stella Mwangi, who sang "Haba Haba". In the final voting, San Marino gave their 12 points to Raphael Gualazzi and his song "Madness Of Love" from Italy.
In 2012, San Marino received their best placing, when Valentina Monetta, who sang "The Social Network Song", placed 14th out of 18 with 31 points, beating experienced countries like Austria and Belgium
