Columbia Aquila

Columbia Aquila Comune della Columbia Aquila
From top-left clockwise: The Piazza della Resurrezione; Valle del Martire; Casa dei Coraggiosi; Stadio dell'Eroico
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  L'ultimo Santuario (Vespasian) The Last Sanctuary Patria Basilica (Solarian) Basilica of the Nation
Motto(s):  "Ubi mors ibi spes" Where there is death, there is hope
Country	Etruria
State	Dinara
Comune	Settentrionali
Founded	14 May 1939
Founded by	Ettore Caviglia
Government
• Type	Mayor and council system
• Body	Communal Assembly
• Mayor	Flavio Adriano Zanotto (Tribune Movement)
Area
• Total	206.63 km2 (79.78 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	159,608
• Density	772.52/km2 (2,000.8/sq mi)
Demonym	Aquiliani
Time zone	-1
Patron saint	Saint Diocletian of the Settentrionali
Saint day	13 February

Columbia Aquila is a city located in the northwestern region of Settentrionali, of which it is the regional capital, in Dinara, Etruria with a population of 159,608. It is the largest urban centre in the Settentrionali and the third largest in the state of Dinara. The wider metropolitan area of Columbia Aquila covers 1,244 km² (480.31 sq mi) and has a population of 488,600, most of which are predominately centered around small rural towns and villages. It is a major tourist destintation, both for its status as a "Novam Urbem", one of several towns and cities constructed between the Great War and Solarian War, by the National Solarian regime, and as the setting for the Battle of Columbia Aquila during the latter conflict. It hosts a variety of musuems, exhibitions and events relating to the conflict and is the primary destination for tourists or well-wishers travelling to the Valle del Martire.

The city was officially founded on the 14 May 1939, three years after the Settentrionali was annexed from Gaullica in wake of the Great War. The city was to be constructed as part of the wider Novam Urbem program of new cities being built to provide housing for war veterans and their families. Between 1939 and 1941, the city dramatically expanded from the core district with the aid of up to 18,000 workers and labourers, many of whom were de-mobilised soldiers, by early 1942 the city had expanded to incorporate the villages of Quintino and Tarquinia Inferiore. The city along with its sisters under the Novam Urbem, were built in a rationalist form. By 1945, the city had a population of 18,500 but would be all but destroyed during the Battle of Columbia Aquila, where the town was selected as a defensive stronghold by the National Solarian regime during the final stages of the Solarian War. The battle saw 40,000 Etrurian defenders attempt to hold back the advancing Soravian army, resulting in their defeat and annihilation, the defence and subsequent claims of Marian apparitions during and after the battle resulted in the city becoming a cultural and national centre for the memorialising of Etruria's war dead.

Following the war, the town was demolished and ignored, until the 1960s when the military dictatorship decided to rebuild the city to facilitate the re-populating of the Settentrionali. Controversially, the city was rebuilt to the exact designs of the GSR-construction, including the Stadio del'Eroico, a sporting complex built for the 1945 Invictus Games, leading many critics to claim the military was openly building an "open-air shrine" to the GSR. Between 1962 and 1968, the city was rebuilt and expanded with the addition of manufacturing sites and numerous industries to support the booming agricultural recovery in the region. In 1968, the Valle del Martire was completed as the nation's principal war memorial, with direct connections to Columbia Aquila. By 1980, the city had a population of 100,000 and would grow steadily for the next three decades.

Today, the city is renowned for its various myths and supposed religious events related to its wartime history and has since become one of Etruria's most important socio-religious centres. It's location near the Aventine Mountains has also resulted in a wider tourist boom, providing services for various skiing resorts and mountain retreats.

Name

The name Columbia Aquila was devised during the latter stages of the Novam Urbem program, according to GSR records, the name was derived from the Settentrionali's Solarian Imperial mythological figure of Quintus Columbus, a man born with superhuman strength who became a Centurion and defeated a Minotaur-like creature singlehandedly in the foothills of the Aventine Mountains. The addition of "Aquila" meaning eagle, was rooted in the original street plans providing the city with an eagle-like shape with its wings spread south to north. However, rapid growth of the city's population would see this unique urban design vanish.

History

Solarian War

Main article: Battle of Columbia Aquila

Infrastructure and transport

Public transport

All public transport within Columbia Aquila is operated by the regional public transport company, Collegamento Ipertestuale Settentrionali (CIS), though owned and managed by the Dinara Department for State Transportation. When Columbia Aquila was founded in 1939 and through to 1946, prior to its destruction, the city operated a limited tram service, connecting the centre (based around the Piazza di Stato; now named the Piazza della Resurrezione) to the various small industries to the south. From its reconstruction in the 1960s through to 1995, the trams were replaced with trolleybuses which connected a wider area, before being replaced by a city-wide bus service.

A typical bus operating in Columbia Aquila.

A select bus service is operated to provide transportation from Columbia Aquila to the Valley of the Martyr monument.

Since 2012, the city has operated a bike sharing scheme called “Pedala Llungo la Strada” which is operated by the municipal government. A total of 3,500 bikes are provided for small rental fees.