Vladivostok vs Palermo

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Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосто́к, IPA: [vlədʲɪvɐˈstok] (listen)) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Pacific Ocean, covering an area of 331.16 square kilometres (127.86 square miles), with a population of 606,561 residents, up to 812,319 residents in the urban agglomeration. Vladivostok is the second-largest city in the Far Eastern Federal District, as well as the Russian Far East. The city was founded in 1860 as a Russian military outpost after the Treaty of Aigun and the Convention of Peking with the Qing dynasty. In 1872, the main Russian naval base on the Pacific Ocean was transferred to the city, and thereafter Vladivostok began to grow. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Vladivostok was occupied in 1918 by foreign troops, the last of whom were not withdrawn until 1922, by that time the anti-revolutionary White Army forces in Vladivostok promptly collapsed, and Soviet power was established in the city.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Vladivostok became the administrative centre of Primorsky Krai. Vladivostok is the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean, and the chief economic, scientific and cultural centre of the Russian Far East, as well as an important tourism centre in Russia. As the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the city was visited by over 3 million tourists in 2017. The city is the administrative centre of the Far Eastern Federal District, and is the home to the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy. For its unique geographical location, and its European culture, the city is called "Europe in Asia". Many foreign consulates and businesses have offices in Vladivostok.

Source: Wikipedia

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Palermo ( pə-LAIR-moh, -⁠LUR-, Italian: [paˈlɛrmo] (listen); Sicilian: Palermu, locally [paˈlɛmmʊ]; Latin: Panormus, from Greek: Πάνορμος, romanized: Pánormos) is a city of southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is in the northwest of the island of Sicily, by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz. Palermo then became a possession of Carthage. Two Greek colonies were established, known collectively as Panormos or "All-Port"; the Carthaginians used this name on their coins after the 5th century BC. As Panormus, the town became part of the Roman Republic and Empire for over a thousand years. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarm (Arabic: بَلَرْم‎), the root for Palermo's present-day name. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became the capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Frederick II and King Conrad IV. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, while its metropolitan area is the fifth most populated in Italy with around 1.2 million people. In the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people.

The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, poetically, panormiti. The languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language and the Palermitano dialect of the Sicilian language. Palermo is Sicily's cultural, economic and tourism capital. It is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Numerous tourists are attracted to the city for its appealing Mediterranean climate, its renowned gastronomy and restaurants, its Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau churches, palaces and buildings, and its nightlife and music. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center: the main industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce and agriculture. Palermo currently has an international airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the main seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale. The city is also going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area.Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitan culture. The Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of tourists each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò and Capo.

Source: Wikipedia