San Pietro, Imagua and the Assimas

San Pietro Pitastad
Town
Motto(s):  Sempre fedele alla patria (Etrurian) Ever loyal to the fatherland
Country	Imagua and the Assimas
Parish	Assimas
Government
• Mayor	Narseo Quagliata
Population  (2011)
• Town	191,096
• Rank	2nd in Imagua and the Assimas
• Urban	191,096
• Metro	230,758
Time zone	UTC+11 (Imaguan Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	not observed

San Pietro (Western Imaguan Creole: Pitastad) is the second largest city in Imagua and the Assimas, and the capital of the Assimas. Located on the northern shore of Avitabile Island, San Pietro is the largest city in the country to not be its own parish, instead being subordinate to the Assimas Parish.

While the Caldians were the first to set up a settlement on what is now San Pietro, doing so in 1536, the settlement was abandoned for unclear reasons in 1548, although it is speculated by archaeologists that the small population made the settlement vulnerable to attacks by the native Imaguan population.

It was only in 1601 that it was established as a permanent settlement by Geatish settlers as the city of Peterstad, it was initially an insignificant settlement under Estmere captured Imagua. Following the fall of Cuanstad, the Geats kept control over the Assimas Islands, causing the town to grow, as many government officials previously based in Cuanstad moved to Peterstad.

In 1813, Eldmark sold the Assimas Islands to Etruria, and the Etrurians immediately set San Pietro up as the capital of their colony. Over the next century and a half, San Pietro became the main centre of Etrurian rule, with the city itself being aggressively Etrurianized. In addition, San Pietro became a major industrial centre, rivaled only by that of Cuanstad in the immediate vicinity of the Arucian Sea.

Etymology

The name San Pietro derives from the name Saint Peter in the Etrurian language.

However, San Pietro is an Etrurian translation of the Geatish name, Peterstad, which means Peter's town, with Peter referring to Saint Peter, as it was established on 29 June, 1601 by Geatis settlers. The Geatish name serves as the origin for the name of the town in Western Imaguan Creole, Pitastad.

History

Pre-colonial era

Due to the location on the mouth of the Colosimo River, and on a plain, the site of what would become San Pietro was home to a major settlement, albeit none to the extent of the settlements on the site of present-day Cuanstad.

The first explorers to land on the site of present-day San Pietro in 1510 reported that the natives there were "curious" about the Euclean explorers, and after some trading, they left. Over the next two decades, trade between the Caldians in newly-established Cuan and Avitabile Island grew.

In 1536, the first settlement was established on the site of what would become San Pietro by the Caldians, with the Caldish settlers naming the area Baile Adamhnáin after Saint Adomnán. While initially, the relationship between the natives and the settlers were cordial, tensions started to rise between the Caldians and the native population on Avitabile Island. Combined with the small population, the settlement was abandoned in 1548 for unclear reasons, although many archaeologists believe that it was primarily due to the small population.

The settlement's ruins were generally used by the surviving natives for building materials, or as firewood, with a report by a Geat official passing by the area in 1583 remarking that:

"The natives have told us stories about a Caldish town on the mouth of the Storström that was abandoned fifty years prior. However, as I gaze on the area, I find it hard to believe, were it not for some unusual roadworks that cannot have been constructed by the savages."

Early colonial era

In 1601, the Geats established Peterstad on the site of Baile Adamhnáin. Initially, Peterstad was a fishing village, with an official remarking that "besides fishing and subsistence farming, there is not much of an economy as Cuanstad and Hammarvik remain the primary centre," but with the fall of Cuanstad in 1658, Peterstad began to develop as it became the main seat of Geatish rule over the islands.

With this, Peterstad began to grow, as Geatland, and later, Eldmark focused their attention on developing the Assimas Islands to protect them from invasions by outside colonial powers. At the same time, Peterstad began to grow into a town, as many colonial officials on the Assimas moved there.

(TBC)

Independence

Following the end of the Solarian War in November 1946, San Pietro was annexed into Imagua following the passage of the First Amendment to the Imaguan constitution. Thus, for the first time in nearly three hundred years, San Pietro was in the same country as Cuanstad.

With this annexation, San Pietro briefly was under Estmerish colonial rule, as while Imagua and the Assimas had equal partnership status with Estmere, it still was a colony of Estmere. However, with Estmere no longer able to support its colonies, Imagua and the Assimas were granted complete independence on 23 April, 1948.

After their independence, San Pietro became a major economic centre, alongside Cuanstad, as both were manufacturing hubs. However, in the 1950s, tourism started to develop, with hotels being opened to cater to tourists from both the Asterias and Euclea, with Etrurians being the main Euclean demographic travelling to San Pietro. At that time, deindustrialization started to take place, as the economy began to transition more to a service economy.

However, the main beneficiary was not San Pietro, but rather, Cuanstad, as the financial sector blossomed there. This led to significant job losses in San Pietro, which helped heighten anxieties among many of the Etrurian population, as they believed that they were neglected by the central government. In addition, the influx of people from the island of Imagua attending the Università di San Pietro helped increase anxieties among the local population.

In the 1960s, the Assimas Independence Movement started to become a major force in island politics, forcing the government under Prime Minister Efrem Lacovara to grant concessions to the Assimans, such as expanding educational rights, establishing the Estmerish language University of Cuanstad, and by 1969, granting autonomy to the Assimas Islands. Thus, by the early 1970s, the Assimas Independence Movement faltered.

Despite this, San Pietro saw many jobs being lost, which helped fuel a brain drain, with younger people generally moving to Imagua or to other countries to find work. However, the economic crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s made things more difficult for San Pietro.

Contemporary era

In the early 1980s, San Pietro, while it was attracting migrants from the countryside of the Assimas Islands, was continuing its decline. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it became a centre for the information technology sector, which combined with the hospitality industry, helped San Pietro begin to recover its status compared to Cuanstad.

However, not all was well: in the 1990s, the rise of the National Reform Party led by Austin Houghton led many Etrurians to fear for their future in Imagua and the Assimas, as the National Reform Party sought to abolish the autonomy of the Assimas Islands. Those fears were only heightened in the mid-1990s when they took power: from 1995 to 1997, the National Reform government had the Assimas Police Force were merged into the Imaguan Constabulary, and attempted to abolish the autonomy of the Assimas Islands.

Following the defeat of Austin Houghton in 1997, and the election of Viviana Andreoli as Prime Minister, the constitution was amended to entrench the autonomy of the Assimas Parish. At the same time, with the growing adoption of the internet, San Pietro was starting to rise economically again, as many dot-com companies based themselves out of San Pietro.

By the early 2000s, San Pietro began to attract immigrants for the first time since the 1960s, as job prospects there were improving rapidly, due to the information technology sector. However, anti-immigrant sentiment started to grow, which accelerated with the outbreak of the Mariranan Civil War in 2013. As many people from Marirana were seeking refuge, many settled in San Pietro, on account of it being an Etrurian-speaking city, as opposed to Cuanstad.

Geography

San Pietro is located on the northern shore of Avitabile Island, and is located in a relatively large plain shaped by the Colosimo River which originates on the slopes of Mount Pioniere, the highest point on the Assimas Islands. Thus, most of the settlement is flat, with only the edges of the mountains taking form near the city limits, with the highest point being a slope of Mount Pionere which at the point where it crosses the city limits reaches an elevation of 456 meters above sea levels.

Climatically, like the rest of the Assimas Islands, San Pietro experiences a tropical monsoon climate, due to its location near the equator, with the yearly average highs being 32 °C (89.6 °F), and the yearly average lows being 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). The wet season is generally from May to October, while the dry season typically lasts from November to April, although the months of April and November receive more rain than any other month in the dry season.

The highest recorded temperature was recorded on 1 August, 1939, when it was measured at 37.5 °C (99.5 °F), while the lowest recorded temperature in San Pietro was measured at 14 °C (57.2 °F) on 19 February, 1911.

Government

Palazzo Governale, 2011

San Pietro has an eighteen member town council (Etrurian: Consiglio comunale) and is headed by a mayor (Etrurian: sindaco). They are all elected by residents of San Pietro every four years. Like other town councils, San Pietro is a non-partisan government, with all members and candidates being independent politicians. The current mayor of San Pietro is Narseo Quagliata, who was first elected in 2008, defeating Oscar Mugavero, and was re-elected in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

While it is commonly referred to as a city (Etrurian: città), having been granted it by Etrurian authorities in 1913 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its purchase from Eldmark, since the end of the Solarian War in 1946, it has been legally classified as a town (Etrurian: cittadina), as it never had been given borough status like Cuanstad had been. Despite proposals made in 1977, and in 2003, San Pietro has not been granted city status as doing so would require a constitutional amendment, as the Cities Act of 1961 declared that only city-parishes (i.e. Cuanstad) can be cities.

On the parish level, San Pietro has thirty-seats of the sixty member parish council, which like other parishes, is non-partisan, with all members and candidates officially being independent politicians.

On the national level, San Pietro is represented with ten members in the Lesser House of Parliament, due to it's status as the second largest settlement in Imagua and the Assimas.

Population

As of the 2011 census, San Pietro has a population of 191,096 people, while its metropolitan area comprises 230,758 people, comprising 76.5% of the population of the Assimas Parish, and 17.6% of the national population.

Ethnically, 113,977 people, or 59.6% of the city's population are Eucleo-Imaguans, with 99,370 people, or 52% of the population being Etrurian-Imaguans, with the remaining Euclean population comprised of Estmerish-Imaguans and more recent immigrants from Euclea. After this, 71,363 people, or 37.3% of the population, are Bahio-Imaguans.

Only three percent of the population, or 5,733 people are immigrants, mostly from the Asterias and Coius, with only twenty-three Native Imaguans residing in the city.

Religiously, San Pietro is heavily dominated by the Solarian Catholic Church, with 78% of the population, or 149,140 people adhering to the Solarian faith. After the Solarian Catholic church, the next largest sects are Bahrism, with 22,164 people, or 11.5% following it, and then 7,388 people, or 3% of the city's population, who follow other Sotirian sects. Only 4% of the population, or 8,710 people are irreligious, while 3,694 people, or 1.9% follow other religions.

Linguistically, San Pietro speaks Etrurian, with 158,616 people, or 83% of the population reporting that they use Etrurian on a regular basis, with 31,524 people, or 16.5% of the population reporting that they use Estmerish on a regular basis. Only 956 people, or 0.5% of the population, reporting that they do not use either official language on a regular basis.

The largest non-official language spoken is Western Imaguan Creole, with around 48% of the city's population, or 91,726 people, reporting it as their native language. The next largest native non-official languages are Geatish.

Transportation

San Pietro is, as the largest city in the Assimas Parish and on Avitabile Island, a key transport node in the regional transportation network. The city is accessible to the rest of the country by ferries, with daily ferries connecting San Pietro to Guardia Island and Ineweyu Island, as well as ferries connecting it to Nua Taois, and an hourly ferry to Cuanstad. As well, all roads on Avitabile Island ultimately converge at San Pietro. It is home to San Pietro International Airport, the second and least busiest international airport in the country.

The city's public transit system is Avitabus, serving not just San Pietro, but the entirety of the island, although most of its routes operate within the city limits of San Pietro.

Culture

As the second largest city of Imagua and the Assimas and the largest city that has more people speaking Etrurian over Estmerish, San Pietro is a major cultural center, especially on the Assimas Islands.

(TBC)