Castra Osaniovo

Castra Osaniovo
Capital of Narico Province
City Hall The Arch of Nerenzio The cityscape of downtown Corso Vittorio Lotus II at night Meridionali Resonare (Southern Echo Resort & Spa)
Flag
Nickname(s):  Los Aquilonare (The Northern Coast)
Country	Caphiria
Province	Narico
Municipalities	15
Government
• City Prefect	Vadar Rahaleos (IRP)
Municipal code	PE81-X343

Castra Osaniovo is the capital city of the Caphirian province Narico. It is located on the southern coast of Caphirian Urlazio, an island across the Urlazian Sea. The city of Castra Osaniovo has nearly 800,000 citizens, while its metropolitan area (including Castra Osaniovo and 15 other municipalities) has more than 1,458,000 inhabitants. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, and architecture. Its natural resources have always been its sheltered harbour, the often powerfully fortified San Miro hill, the Rarosi lagoons, and, from the hinterland, wheat from the Emervirca plains and silver and other ores from the Naseph mines.

Castra Osaniovo has over 3,000 years of recorded urban history, having been a human settlement since the Adonerii civilization first inhabited the region during the 4th century BC. The city has been influenced by non-Adonerii Latins and and other Urlazic peoples, as well as Urceans, the Oduniyyad Caliphate, and many other cultures. Under the modern city lies the ruins of the Old Castrum, a medieval fortification built during the Second Republic. Towards the end of the 10th century, the city was under constant attack from Muslim raiders from the east, which led to a series of revolts on the island. Consequently, several mercantile republics were formed, with Castra Osaniovo falling under the control of the Republic of Sagnano in 1210. Sagnano turned Castra Osaniovo into a coveted defensive port, building a new fortification on top of San Mirol hill to oversee the gulf. Under the Sagnanetic Republic, the city-state flourished and experienced over 150 years of stability and gradually expanded its borders until it controlled the entire southern coast of Urlazio. By the 14th century, most of the Urlazian republics, including the Republic of Sagnano, had been re-annexed into the Third Imperium. During the late-15th century, many prominent, wealthy Catholic families and artists fled to Castra Osaniovo to escape the rise of Protestantism in Levantia, and the city became a major political center. This coincided with a significant cultural and social transformation across Caphiria known as the Dominate era, a period marked by immense artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and military influence. Castra Osaniovo became a major trade and commercial hub as it connected Levantia to Sarpedon. Castra Osaniovo, along with the city of Lariana, became two of the wealthiest cities on the island and dominated Urlazian commerce. The leading families of the city vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and to support the work of the greatest and most talented artists, creating a rich and lasting cultural legacy which still exists. The city experienced a period of decline during the First Great War but recovered when it became a resort town for the aristocracy escaping Venceia. In the mid-20th century, Imperator Magasevetus invested heavily into the city, building massive public gardens and other public projects. Soon after, Castra Osaniovo became the playground and vacation spot of aristocrats around the world, frequented by artists and writers who would give it the nickname paradiso septentrionali ("paradise in the North").

Today, the city is known for its strong presence in the art, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism sectors. Castra Osaniovo is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Relerio Nouveau architecture. It is also the province's economic and industrial hub, having one of the biggest ports in the Urlazian Sea - Sybaesa Port, an international airport, and one of the highest income levels in the Imperium. Over the last 50 years, tourism in Castra Osaniovo has quadrupled. This is due to the many beaches becoming a popular destination for weddings and honeymoons, student vacations and an influx of celebrities moving to live in the area. The tourism and entertainment business flourishes here unlike in any other city so much so that many have nicknamed Castra Osaniovo to Novas Venciea.

Geography

The coastline of Castra Osaniovo

The city of Castra Osaniovo is situated in the south of the province Narico, overlooking the center of the eponymous gulf, also known as the Sella del Diavolo ("Saddle of the Devil") for its shape. The city faces the island province Estro in the Urlazian Sea. The harbor and port to the north-east of the city - Sybaesa Port, is safe and spacious.

The repeated intrusion of the sea left calcareous sediments that formed a series of hills that mark the geographic boundary of Castra Osaniovo. That is where a fortified town arose near the harbor of the port. Castra Osaniovo is spread over a valley covering approximately 368 square kilometres (142 sq mi) while the metropolitan area extends a further 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) around the hill of the historic district of Castello and nine other limestone hills of the middle-to-late Miocene.These hills reach heights of a little more than 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level on the long Emervirca plains .

Other notable geographic features include Kingshill and Marblerock, the site of the ancient Adonerii necropolis, the small Boria hill, where the basilica stands, and the San Mirol hill, with the eponymous castle on top. The modern city occupies the valley between the hills and the sea to the south and southeast. Castra Osaniovo is surrounded by the Seven Brothers Mountain to the east and the mountains of Ursina to the north, with Devil's Saddle in the west. The landscape and coastline contains many landmarks and panoramas of the bay, plains, mountains, and lagoons and ponds.

Castra Osaniovo is one of the "greenest" Caphirian cities; every inhabitant of Castra Osaniovo has access to 87.5 square metres (942 sq ft) of public gardens and parks. Its mild climate allows the growth of numerous subtropical plants, such as the Greater Island Pine, Virgin's Winter Willow, Queen White-Root, White Roundleaf Corydalis, Tassel Dogbane and Perennial Violets. Major parks include: Pandora Meadows, which extends for about 25 hectares; Crescent Park, which extends for about 20 hectares with a medieval castle on the top; the Almond Gardens which extends for about 13 hectares, with a little pond which is home to flamingos and other wading birds; Grand Avenue Park, which extends for about 22 hectares and hosts the city library in an old mansion on the top of the hill; and Trillium Plaza, which extends for about 2.5 hectares.

The Arraetonian waterfalls

Castra Osaniovo has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures usually range from 23 °C (73 °F) in the coldest month, January to 32 °C (90 °F) in August, the warmest month. (73 to 90 °F). While temperature does not vary greatly throughout the year, there is a wetter monsoon season from November to February. But heat waves can occur, due to Urcean anticyclone, starting in June. From mid-June to mid-September, rain is a rare event, limited to brief afternoon storms. The rainy season starts in September, and the first cold days come in December. Winds are frequent, especially the mistral and sirocco; in summer, a marine sirocco breeze lowers the temperature and brings some relief from the heat. The Arraeton river flows down the Ursina mountains to create the 44 metre (48 yards) Arraetonian waterfalls, considered one of the most beautiful sights in Caphiria. Castra Osaniovo is known for its many beaches (ora), which are dotted along the Devil's Saddle. Notable beaches include Ora Paemon near Saint Marcolina, Mirror Bay nestled in between the cliffs of Devil's Saddle, and Dolcervi Beach in Čabro.

Sacard Beach

The main beach of Castra Osaniovo however, is Sacard Beach. It stretches for about 21 kilometres (13 mi), along Devil's Saddle up to the coastline of Saint Marcolina. Sacard is also the name of the district located on the western stretch of the strip between the beach and Saline di Tupoh ("Tupoh's Salt Mine").

Castra Osaniovo is close to other seaside locations such as Jericho Shore, Gans Harbor, Kingshill Piers, Arisa, and Cacourt and Canau.

Administration

Politics

As a provincial capital, Castra Osaniovo is the seat of power for the Provinciarum of Narico and is home to all criminal, civil, administrative, and accounting courts for Narico from the Ministry of Justice up to the High Court of Assizes of Appeal. It is home to a prison, Sailasch, built in the late 18th century, famous because no one has ever managed to escape. A new modern prison is under construction in the nearby town of Usati. The city also contains several notable institutions and offices, such as the Superintendency of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, the Naricon Archival Superintendency, and the Archeological Superintendency of the Cultural Heritage Ministry. Despite the public perception of the city being a resort town, Castra Osaniovo is one of the most politically significant cities in Urlazio.

Vadar Rahaleos, a member of the right-wing social-conservative IRP party, is the current City Prefect, serving his sixth-consecutive term.

Municipalities and neighborhoods

The city limits of Castra Osaniovo are defined as the 368 square kilometres (142 sq mi) valley which it resides within. There are 6 historic neighborhoods: Santonia, Maresegan, Ariaca, Seoria, Rurres, and Jeseolo. There are also several modern districts, grown when part of the ancient walls had been demolished during the First Great War such as Martore, Čabro, and Goldrun at the east, Saint Marcolina at the west, Falerii Vale to the north and Sacard, and Emona at the south.

Outside of the city limits are 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) of suburbs extending north. This area consists of 15 municipalities and makes up the Castra Osaniovo metropolitan area. They include: Bontorezia, Bianov, Kerriva, Calemo, Liesala, Sacard, Macolorti, Clucatazzi, and Lulconich. Of these, the most notable are:

Sacard

Sacard is the municipality around the Sacard Beach. The beach itself extends for 8 kilometers (5 mi) while the overall area of the municipality covers 85 km^2, with an estimated population of 21,500 inhabitants. The municipality of Sacard has been called a city-within-a-city as it features its distinctive gastronomy, exclusive clothing boutiques, beauty salons, extensive water park rides, casinos, and year-round nightlife. As a vacation area, Sacard receives a large influx of tourists during the summer months; the primary tourist areas are clustered around the main beach, which is referred to locally as "downtown." During the summer, house and techno houses (cortiocă) open throughout the day, and beach activities such as beauty contests, surfing, rugby, and beach volleyball take place. The lower part of the hill overlooking the beach is covered with residential buildings that sprawl up the hillside. These apartments are owned mainly by outsiders and remain empty during the September–March off-season. It has been one of Caphiria's pre-eminent resort towns since the early 20th century. After the Second Great War, Sacard Beach became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities and influential people, including musician Adriana Dutra, celebrity chef Antoine Lebâtard, Emperor Hachi of Metzetta, actor Maglius Balvitena, own property in Sacard

Economy

According to 2030 data from the Ministry of the Treasury, the inhabitants of Castra Osaniovo returned an individual income tax per capita that was 128% of the national average, while all of Narico returned only 80%. The metropolitan area returned 97% of the national average. As usual, the urban area income is greater than that of boroughs or countryside, but considering all of Narico the figure is particularly significant.

The world's first department store - La Rinacente - opened in 1900 in the Adrolonia Forum, and it is still open today. Nowadays there are many commercial centres in the metropolitan area (Le Vele, Santa Gilla, La Corte del Sole, Marconi) hosting many luxury department stores.

The Vocrard-Elzuzad area between Castra Osaniovo and Ad Novas is one of the most important industrial areas of Castra Osaniovo, in conjunction with a large international container terminal port at Abral. Besides having one of the biggest container terminals in the Urlazian Sea, Castra Osaniovo also has one of the largest fish markets in Caphiria offering for sale a vast array of fish to both the public and traders. Sandio's Homestyle Seafood, a popular seafood brand owned by Katta Seafood, operates several manufacturing plants. The Cartadanian communications provider Axiom also has offices in Castra Osaniovo.

Tourism is one of the major industries of the city; although historical venues such as the Arch of Nerenzio draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, its Latin ruins are less highlighted compared to the recreational beaches and coastline. Cruise ships touring the Urlazian Sea often stop for passengers at Castra Osaniovo, and the city is a traffic hub to the nearby beaches of Cacourt, Tlesuhl, Braubach and Canau, as well as to the urban beach of Sacard. Braubach is home to the archaeological site ruined city of Noca. Especially in summer, many clubs and pubs are goals for young locals and tourists. Pubs and nightclubs are concentrated in the Corso Vittorio Lotus II, a large commercial street in Emona district near the port and in the Čabro district.

Demographics

According to the latest census: Castra Osaniovo has 791,892 inhabitants, of which 427,621 were male and 364,271 were female. Minors (children aged 16 and younger) totalled 6.8% of the population, compared to pensioners at 36.81%. The average age of Castra Osaniovo residents is 47.4. The ratio of the population over 65 years of age to that under the age of 18, is 53.39%. The elderly population, defined as being over 65 years of age, has increased by 21.95% over the last 10 years. The current birth rate in Castra Osaniovo is 6.29 births per 1,000 inhabitants. The average number of people of any age per household is 2.11 and the percentage of households composed of a single person is 42.53%. The population of Castra Osaniovo is structured like that of other first world countries, especially as to the prevalence of an elderly population. The trend of these rates in the Castra Osaniovo metropolitan area is proportionally reversed in the suburbs, where most younger families move.

As of the most recent census, 8.26% of the population was foreign, of which the largest group were Kiravian (21.33%), followed by Cartadanian (11.93%), Urcean (10.93%), and Pelaxian (6.49%).

Culture

The city has numerous libraries, such as the University Library, the Provincial Library, and the Mediateca of the Vetera, which contains the municipal archive and library collection.

Life in Castra Osaniovo has been depicted by many writers, starting with the late Caphirian poet Claude. In the late 16th century, the local humanist Ezio Centrone dedicated to his town a didactic Latin poem, Caralis Panegyricus. At the beginning of the 17th century, Julian De la Cruz wrote a hymn to Castra Osaniovo in Spanish; Aurelius Herrera published in 1636, in Spanish, the first novel set in Castra Osaniovo, entitled El Forastero. Lucio Soto wrote about the city in his Oceans of Castra Osaniovo.

Modern writers connected to Castra Osaniovo include Onorino Menotti, Gloria Todisco, Lea Pagni, and Fiordaliso D'Urso, who set many of his novels and short stories, such as Banin's Son, in ancient and modern Castra Osaniovo.

Castra Osaniovo was the birthplace or residence of the composer Aldo De Stefanis, of the film, theatre and TV director Arion Pernaska, and of the actors Dalin Varoshi, Basim Daas and Cole Lias (born Napoleon Vlahakis).

Excluding the republic era amphitheater, the first theater was inaugurated in Castra Osaniovo in 1767: the Teatro Zapata, later becoming the Civic Theatre. Devastated by bombing in 1943, it was recently restored, but the roof was not rebuilt, and today it serves as an open-air theatre. The Politeama Regina Margherita, inaugurated in 1859, was destroyed by fire in 1942 and never rebuilt.

Castra Osaniovo is home to the University of Castra Osaniovo. It currently includes six faculties: Engineering and Architecture, Medicine and Surgery, Economics, Juridical and Political Sciences, Basic Sciences, Biology and Pharmacy, Humanistic Studies. It is attended by about 35,000 students. All science faculties of the university, as well as the university hospital, have been transferred to a new "University Citadel", located in Cariati. Castra Osaniovo downtown houses the engineering and the humanities divisions and, in the Castle, the seat of the Rector, in an 18th-century palace with a library of thousands of ancient books.

Castra Osaniovo is also the seat of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Narico and the Caphiric Institute of Design.

The city is served by the Lucenta International Airport, located 20 kilometres from the downtown area. A railway line connects the city to the airport; walkways join the railway station to the air terminal. The terminal is also connected to the city by highway SS 130 and by a bus service run by the ARST company to the central bus station in Starlight square, in the centre of the city.

Aerial view of the port of Sybaesa Port

Sybaesa Port is divided in two sectors, the old port and the new international container terminal. The port system of Castra Osaniovo-Sarroch is the third for freight traffic in Caphiria with a movement of about 34 million tons. Castra Osaniovo has scheduled services by passenger ship to the island Estro. There are also two other small ports, Su Siccu (Lega Navale) and Marina Piccola.

Castra Osaniovo has connecting services to all major port cities through the ultra-high-speed Express Railway and uses the Metro Express Rail to connect internal destinations in the city and in the metropolitan area. A public bike-sharing service is operating with pick-up points at Via Sonnino - Palazzo Civico, Piazza Repubblica, Piazza Giovanni 23, and Marina Piccola.

Sports

Castra Osaniovo is home to the football team Osaniovo FC, winner of the Imperial League championship in 1988, when the team was led by Gigi Riva. Founded in 1920, the club played at the Stadio Sant'Elia in the city from 1970 until it was closed due to safety concerns in 2012, causing the club to temporarily relocate to the smaller Stadio Is Arenas in nearby Quartu Sant'Elena. Sant'Elia was the venue for three 1990 IxFIFA World Cup matches.

Castra Osaniovo is an ideal location for water sports such as surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing and sailing due to strong and reliable favourable winds.

Food

The food of Castra Osaniovo has developed over many centuries and is based on fresh ingredients, with the use of seafood, vegetables and olive oil. Fresh fruit is commonly consumed alone or used in desserts, and the region abounds in varieties of fruit. Common fruits include oranges and lemons from Macolorti, melons, cherries from Čabro, apricots, table grapes, figs, raspberries, bananas, strawberries and apples. Many Castra Osaniovo dishes feature fresh and seasonal local vegetables, including asparagus in the spring, zucchinis and eggplant in the summer, pumpkin in the fall, onions, green pepper, artichokes, tomatoes, fennel, green beans, celery and potatoes. Vegetables can be cut up and served raw as crudités with a dip, such as anchovy paste mixed with garlic and olive oil. Seafood is generally more popular than meat, with varieties of freshly caught fish including sea bass, tuna, salmon, red snapper, mullet, anchovy, monkfish and cod. Other types of seafood include octopus, conger eel, prawns, mussel, squid, sea urchins and shellfish. Other common ingredients in the city's cuisine include nuts such as almonds, chestnuts and walnuts, herbs such as saffron and basil, garlic, anise, honey, butter and jam, eggs and orange blossom.

The most well-known drink of Castra Osaniovo is the herbal liqueur conisura. The liqueur was created in 1848 and is today produced by a single family - the Oleonto Estate, according to a secret formula of more than forty herbs; the drink is aged in oak casks and contains anise and liquorice root, and is typically bottled at 70–80% ABV. Conisura is normally diluted with water before drinking, generally in a 4:1 ratio, but often neat conisura is served together with a jug of water for the drinker to blend together according to preference. The resulting decrease in alcohol percentage causes some of the constituents to become insoluble, which changes the liqueur's appearance from dark transparent yellow to milky soft yellow, a phenomenon also present with absinthe and known as louche or the ouzo effect. The drink is consumed cold and considered a refreshment for hot days. Ice cubes can be added (after the water, to avoid crystallization). Many conisura drinkers decline to add ice, preferring to drink the beverage with cool spring water. It is also common to mix conisura with flavored syrups, such as orgeat and orange flower water, lavender syrup, or strawberry syrup. Conisura is commonly consumed alongside sedin - a selection of hot and cold appetizers, either before a full dinner or instead of it. It is especially popular with seafood, together with fresh arugula, cheese, and melon. It is an equally popular complement to various red meat dishes like kebabs.