Monaco | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 35881 |
Monaco ( (listen); French pronunciation: [mɔnako]), officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera close to the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe. Bordered by France to the north, east and west, it is lapped by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The principality is home to 38,682 residents, of which 9,486 are Monégasque nationals; it is widely recognised for being one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world. The official language is French, although Monégasque (Ligurian-Italian dialect) Italian and English are spoken and understood by a sizeable group.With an area of 2.1 km2 (0.81 sq mi), it is the second smallest sovereign state in the world, after Vatican City. Its 19,009 inhabitants per square kilometre (49,230/sq mi) make it the most densely-populated sovereign state in the world. Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km (3.40 mi) and the world's shortest coastline of approximately 3.83 km (2.38 mi); it has a width that varies between 1,700 and 349 m (5,577 and 1,145 ft). The highest point in the state is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires ward, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. The principality is about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the border with Italy. Its most populous ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins with a population of 5,443 as of 2008. Through land reclamation, Monaco's land mass has expanded by 20 percent. In 2005, it had an area of only 1.974 km2 (0.762 sq mi). The principality is governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state. Although Prince Albert II is a constitutional monarch, he wields immense political power; the Minister of State is the head of government. The officeholder can be either a Monégasque or French citizen; the monarch consults with the Government of France before an appointment. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, since 1297. The state's sovereignty was officially recognised by the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861, with Monaco becoming a full United Nations voting member in 1993.
Dijon | |
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State | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
Country | France |
Capital | |
Population | 151672 |
Postcode | 21000 |
Dijon (UK: , US: , French: [diʒɔ̃] (listen)) is in the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France. In 2017, the commune had a population of 156,920; the Greater Dijon area had 250,516 inhabitants in 2007.
The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries, and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power, one of the great European centres of art, learning, and science.The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic, and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow, and black and arranged in geometric patterns.