Verona vs Donetsk

Informations

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

Informations

Donetsk (UK: don-YETSK, US: də-N(Y)ETSK; Ukrainian: Донецьк [doˈnɛtsʲk] (listen); Russian: Донецк [dɐˈnʲetsk]), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Hughesovka, Yuzovka, Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in the disputed Donetsk region. While internationally recognized as in Ukraine, the city is under the de facto administration of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic, which claims it as its capital city. The population was estimated at 929,063 (2016 est.) in the city core, with over 2,000,000 in the metropolitan area (2011). According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.Administratively, Donetsk has been the centre of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (Donbass) region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city, Makiivka, and along with other surrounding cities forms a major urban sprawl and conurbation in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high concentration of heavy industries and a skilled workforce. The density of heavy industries (predominantly steel production, chemical industry, and coal mining) determined the city's challenging ecological situation. In 2012 a UN report ranked Donetsk among the world's fastest depopulating cities.The original settlement in the south of the European part of the Russian Empire was first mentioned as Aleksandrovka in 1779, during the reign of the Empress Catherine the Great.

In 1869 the Welsh businessman John Hughes founded a steel plant and several coal mines in the region, and the town was named Hughesovka or Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role ("Yuz" being a Russian-language approximation of Hughes). During Soviet times, the city's steel industry expanded. In 1924 Yuzovka was renamed Stalin. In 1929 Stalin was renamed Stalino, and in 1932 the city became the centre of the Donetsk region. Renamed Donetsk in 1961, the city today remains a centre for coal mining and for the steel industry. Since April 2014 Donetsk and its surrounding areas have been one of the major sites of fighting in the ongoing Donbass War, as pro-Russian separatist forces battle against Ukrainian military forces for control of the city and surrounding areas. Throughout the war, the city of Donetsk has been administered by the pro-Russian separatist forces as the center of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), with outlying territories of the Donetsk region divided between the two sides. Donetsk International Airport became the epicenter of the war with almost a year-long battle leading to massive casualties among civilians and a total ruination of the northwestern neighborhoods of the city. As of July 2020, the DPR has full control of the city, with Ukrainian and DPR forces still engaging in combat outside of the city.

Source: Wikipedia