Verona vs Cloppenburg

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Verona ( və-ROH-nə, Italian: [veˈroːna] (listen); Venetian: Verona or Veròna) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 259,610 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in northeast Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater. Between the 13th and 14th century the city was ruled by the Della Scala Family.

Under the rule of the family, in particular of Cangrande I della Scala, the city experienced great prosperity, becoming rich and powerful and being surrounded with new walls. The Della Scala era is survived in numerous monuments around Verona. Two of William Shakespeare's plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet (which also features’ Romeo’s sojourn to Mantua) and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. It is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities. The city has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.

Source: Wikipedia

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Cloppenburg (German: [ˈklɔpn̩ˌbʊɐ̯k] (listen)) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch border. Cloppenburg is not far from the A1, the major motorway connecting the Ruhr area to Bremen and Hamburg. Another major road is the federal highway B213 being the shortest link from the Netherlands to the A1 and thus to Bremen and Hamburg. The town is a centre for the largely agricultural region of southern Oldenburg.

It is the administrative centre of the district and there are many schools. However, there is also some industry in town: e.g. Lumberg, (connector systems) and Derby Cycle (bikes). The town had strong cultural links with St Munchins Parish in Limerick, Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s. During this period many groups of teens/young adults from both areas visited and were hosted by families from the other area. It was a very successful exchange program fostering some lifelong friendships.

Source: Wikipedia