Dubrovnik

Ragusa paid tribute to the Ottomans, the Venetians and anyone else who threatened it, keeping independence from 1358 to 1808 by diplomacy and money rather than arms — though it built two kilometres of wall up to six metres thick regardless. The 1667 earthquake and the 1991 siege both nearly ended it; the walls survived both, and the roof tiles that are brighter orange are the ones replaced after 1995.