Ashgabat vs Catanzaro

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Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat; Ашгабат, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt], Persian: عشق آباد‎; Russian: Ашхабад), formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia. It is also near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.

Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov’s "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Since 2019, the city has been recognized as having one of the highest costs of living in the world largely due to Turkmenistan's inflation and import issues.

Source: Wikipedia

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Catanzaro (US: , Italian: [katanˈdzaːro] (listen) or [katanˈtsaːro]; Catanzarese: Catanzaru [katanˈtsaːɾʊ]; Ancient Greek: Κατανθέρος, romanized: Katanthéros, or Κατασταρίοι Λοκροί, Katastaríoi Lokrói; Latin: Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 91,000 inhabitants (2013), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabria. The archbishop's seat was the capital of the province of Calabria Ultra for over 200 years. It houses the University "Magna Græcia", the second-largest university in Calabria. Catanzaro is an urban centre, with much activity, including some coastal towns, such as Sellia Marina and Soverato, and the municipalities of Silas, with a total of 156,196 inhabitants. Catanzaro is being consolidated to form a greater metropolitan area, by the Region of Calabria, and in connection with the town of Lamezia Terme, comprising 10 municipalities.

This will lead to the creation of an integrated area involving over 200,000 inhabitants. During the summer months, the Ionian coast from Catanzaro to Soverato is an important tourist attraction, especially for the youth, and is in the presence of several important structures located in the coastal districts of the city and the towns of Copanello and Soverato. Catanzaro is also known as the city of the three V's, referring to the three distinct features of the city, namely Saint Vitalian, the patron saint; velvet, because the city has been an important silk centre since Byzantine times; and wind (vento in Italian), because of the strong breezes from the Ionian Sea and La Sila. "VVV" was the symbol by which Catanzaro's silk industry was known, identified for both its domestic and foreign markets, and iconic for the finest fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks, and brocades from the city.

Source: Wikipedia