Watch the Old Town Wake Up Before the Bells
By half past nine on the morning of 1 October, the cobbles of Piazza della Libertà are already lined with people who have claimed their patch of pavement. The Military Corps assemble in the square and the flag goes up — this is the moment the day begins, and it is worth being there early enough to hear the boots on stone before you see anything at all. San Marino holds this ceremony twice a year, on 1 April and 1 October, and the October edition is the one on the 2026 calendar.
Everything that follows happens in the streets and squares of the Old Town, not behind a gate. There are no tickets and no booking mentioned for the Investiture Ceremony of the Captains Regent — you simply position yourself along the route and watch the Republic perform its oldest ritual in public.
Follow the Procession from Palazzo Valloni to the Public Palace
Shortly before ten, the Military Corps deploy before Palazzo Valloni on Contrada Omerelli. Then, at 10:40, the elected Captains Regent process from Palazzo Valloni to the Public Palace, entering the Council of the XII Chamber to pay homage to the incumbent Captains Regent. Walk the route with them rather than standing still — Contrada Omerelli and the approach to the Public Palace are where the ceremony feels closest.
The parade is not a single file of officials. The Captains Regent are escorted by the Council Guard and preceded by the Military Band and the Militia, and they walk with Government Authorities, the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, Military Authorities, Civil and Religious Authorities, and Guests of the Republic. The order of this procession was already set down in the Statutes of the 1600s, which is part of why it reads as ritual rather than pageant.
- 09:30 — Military Corps deployment and flag-raising, Piazza della Libertà
- 09:45 — Military Corps deployment before Palazzo Valloni, Contrada Omerelli
- 10:40 — Procession of the elected Captains Regent from Palazzo Valloni to the Public Palace
- 10:55 — Procession from the Public Palace to the Basilica of Saint Marinus for the religious rite
- 11:55 — Return to the Public Palace: Official Prayer, oath and investiture, National Anthem performed by the Military Band
- 12:45 — Procession from the Public Palace back to Palazzo Valloni
- 13:00 — Piazza della Libertà: Military Corps deployment and lowering of the flag
The programme is subject to variations, so treat the times as the shape of the morning rather than a rigid schedule.
Stand at the Basilica Door at Ten to Eleven
At 10:55 the elected Captains Regent and their entourage leave the Public Palace for the Basilica of Saint Marinus, where the Chaplain and the Massari of the Saint wait at the entrance to receive them. This is the point where the ceremony's secular and religious elements meet: the institutional moments belong to Valloni Palace and the Public Palace, and the religious rite belongs to the Basilica.
Position yourself near the Basilica entrance before the procession arrives. The greeting at the door is brief, and it is the one part of the morning you cannot reconstruct afterwards from the square.
Understand What You Are Watching
Two Captains Regent are elected every six months by the Great and General Council from among its members. They serve as joint heads of state, representing the State and heading legislative and executive power, and each holds a veto over the other — a deliberate arrangement that keeps power out of one individual's hands. The institution dates to the communal period and is still intact today.
The first document mentioning two Captains Regent, then called "Consules", is dated 12 December 1243 or 1244 — the exact year cannot be determined — and names Filippo da Sterpeto and Oddone di Scarito. The origins may be older still. Candidates must be original San Marino citizens and at least 25 years old, an age requirement set in the 17th-century Statutes, and re-election is possible only after three years from the end of a mandate. At the close of the semester the Captains Regent return to ordinary citizen status without privilege, and they are subject to the Syndicate, which judges them for actions and omissions on the basis of citizen appeals.
It was this uniqueness that proved a decisive factor in San Marino's 2008 inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Knowing that changes how the 11:55 oath lands: the Official Prayer, the oath, the investiture, the National Anthem played by the Military Band, and the outgoing Captains Regent paying homage to the incumbent ones are the mechanics by which a republic hands power over twice a year, on schedule, and has done for centuries.
Plan Around the First of October
The ceremony is fixed to 1 October, and it is a morning event — the flag comes down at Piazza della Libertà at 13:00 and the formal programme is done. Build your day around arriving in the Old Town well before 09:30 so you are settled in the square rather than pushing through the crowd as the Corps deploy.
Because the whole ceremony takes place in the streets and squares of the Old Town, the practical decision you are making is not which event to buy into but where to stand and when to move. Watch the flag-raising at Piazza della Libertà, walk down to Contrada Omerelli for the 09:45 deployment, follow the 10:40 procession to the Public Palace, and be at the Basilica of Saint Marinus before 10:55. Stay through the 12:45 return to Palazzo Valloni and finish where you started, in Piazza della Libertà, for the lowering of the flag at 13:00.
Check the published programme closer to the date, since it is subject to variations, then book your travel for the end of September and give yourself the morning of the first.