Kumanovo
Kumanovo is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the largest municipality in the country. Kumanovo lies 340 metres above sea level and is surrounded by the Karadag part of Skopska Crna Gora mountain on its western side, Gradištanska mountain on its southern side, and Mangovica and German mountain on the Eastern side. Skopje airport also serves Kumanovo.
The town was first mentioned in 17th century. It was initially settled by Turks and later by Muslim Albanians. Slavic people entered the town in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It has many historical sites. One of the most important sites is the 4,000-year-old megalithic astronomical observatory of Kokino, located 30 km northeast of Kumanovo and discovered in 2001. It is ranked fourth on the list of old observatories by NASA.
In 1912, during the First Balkan War, Serbian forces won a decisive victory over the Ottomans north of the town. The two-day Battle of Kumanovo ended Ottoman authority in Vardar Macedonia which contributed to the region's integration into Serbia, and consequently, into Yugoslavia.
The rapid economic, administrative and cultural expansion of Kumanovo began in 1945. The town's metal-processing, tobacco, agriculture, footwear and textile industries have made it an economic, trading and cultural center of approximately 135,529 people. It is internationally known for a jazz festival hosting bands from all over the world.
Venice
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. Of the 272,000 inhabitants about 62,000 live in the historic center of the island, and most of the mainland city of Mestre. Mestre is the center and the most populated urban area of the mainland of Venice. The mainland of Venice is the territory of the city based on normal land (instead of natural or artificial islands like the most well-known parts of Venice) connected to the historical center by a long rail and road bridge over the Venetian lagoon, called Ponte della Libertà (Freedom Bridge).
The city is famous for its canals, gondolas and rich history, a majority of independent city that was the center of the Venetian Republic.
Venice is situated across a group of 117 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. Venice is located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site.
The most important tourist attractions of Venice are:
- Piazza San Marco, often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, where it is generally known just as la Piazza ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (except the Piazzetta and the Piazzale Roma) are called campi ("fields"). The two spaces together form the social, religious and political centre of Venice and are commonly considered together.
- The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as Saint Mark's Basilica, is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It lies at the eastern end of the Piazza San Marco, adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city's cathedral since 1807, when it became the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, formerly at San Pietro di Castello.
- The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice, opening as a museum in 1923. Today, it is one of the 11 museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.