Falzeno
Falzeno is an ancient city, having been an inhabited city since the first age. It is a city of culture and commerce, with a booming trade in marble, stones, sculpture, and painting. The city is the capital of Altruscia, and is the birthplace of The Awakening. In the last 1000 years, Falzeno has undergone a boom of growth and population, the city becoming one of the most culturally important human settlements in the whole of Prima Terra.
Nestled upon the hills, Falzeno looms over the surrounding valleys like a glistening gem. Its high towers and buildings giving it a unique and iconic skyline. One of the few settlements in the world with over a million citizens, its streets bustle with people and carts alike, its market places bustling with trade. The buildings are stone, with high windows made of the finest Goscan glass.
Demographics
Government
The city has a mixture of political authorities that manage both the civil settlement and the duchy as as whole. In the centre of the city is the Palaza di Bergozo, a grand medieval palace with modern renovations slowly being constructed around it, making it an architechturally unique but confusing building. Here the Duke rules over all of Etruscia, with his Higher and Lower councils helping to govern. On the otherside of the river sits the Gilded Palace, a large old Marcian Empire fortification, where the Count of Falzeno oversees the administration of the city. He is considered to be the second most important noble in the country after the Duke.
The Duke of Altruscia and Count of Falzeno split the administrational duties of the city, with the count overseeing the day to day administration and taxing whilst the Duke manages the key defences such as the army. The High Guardsman is technically independent, but is appointed by the Count and the city council, who oversees a standing city militia. An ancient quirk in the local laws means dependent on the guardhouses position, they swear an oath of allegiance to a different nobleman. Those based on the south of the river are known as the Coronas, due to their shield's having painted crowns, and swear allegiance to the duke. Those north of the river are known as the Pegasari, due to their sheilds having a pegasus on them, and they swear allegiance to the Count.
Defences
The city has tall strongly reinforced outer wals, with numerous archers, automated magical defences, and siege equipment. The current walls were built 60 years ago, with the older Marcian Imperial walls being torn down due and their stones given to the artists and architects guilds for repurposing. This was done to defend the new extent of the city growth, and to allow a redevelopment of the inner city.
The city guard are a well armed and well trained standing army which mainly guard and police the city, but during war they can be mobilised as an armed attacking force. The inner palace has numerous magically installed defences that can be used in the rare circumstance an attacking army breaches the city.
Industry & Trade
The City is a cultural hub with multiple workshops and theatres which are considered to be the hub of the cultural movements of The Awakening, and these institutions continue to push the artistic limits to this day. The cultural sector has numerous aspects, from those that produce paper needed for manuscripts, to importers and quarriers of marble and stone. A booming commerce in those that can replicate text via mechanical or magical means for reproduction of books and plays has also begun to spread within the city. The artisanal population are mostly employed in this sector.
The city itself employs numerous bueaurocrats and political assistants as a means to govern both the metropolis and the duchy as a whole. This makes up a large number of the upper class and nobles of the city, who all live in grand villas. This political sector is a key part of the population, with their needs being catered to by numerous endentered servants within the poorer population of the city.
The rest of the poorer civilians work largely in either the guard milita, the numerous sheep and goat pastures found outside the city, and the manual labour required amongst civil maintainance staff and the quarraying within and outside the city. There are small hamlets and homesteads just outside the city dedicated to farming, with a few vineyards to be found.
Infrastructure
The city has a functioning sewer network, rebuilt by the city council in the last century, with constant modification and redevelopment being done to extend it to the entirity of the city. Currently it is only entirely functional within the city centre, the Quatro d'Oro, Neroni, Casa Alta, and parts of Entracetto and Trefiume.
The city roads are well maintained and smooth to ride on, with large population of civil workers running both the highway maintainance and rubbish collection. The latter sends waste for repurposing or for dumping in landfills outside the city. This keeps the inner city clean and healthy, but these services don't extend to the poorer quarters.
The city is trisected by three rivers, with the Santa Katrina and Rio Nero merging into the River Virgil. There are four bridge crossings over the Virgil, two over the Nero, and one over the Santa Katrina. The latter is the oldest and most neglected, with the rest being largely modern and well constructed bridges. The Civil Bridge collapsed in 706, and was rebuilt by the reknown architect Fredrico Doscatti, with the bridge being renamed in his honour.
Numerous piazzas and courtyards are found throughout the city, all housing multiple markets and artistic sculptures built during the dawn of The Awakening. The most impressive is Solari Plaza, a large paved open space within the city which houses the busiest city markets throughout the week. This plaza also houses the ruins of the ancient Forum and the ruins of the Dunantis Parthenon, a relic from ancient Altrusican history when the inhabitents there worshipped the Old Gods.
There are several old religious buildings within the city, with the Cathedral of St Marcus in the Solari Plaza being the most impressive. buildling started in roughly 2495 of the Second Age, and was completed in 101 of the Third Age. The cathedral is known for its iconic dome and fresco of the Goosling's execution by the Marcian Emperor.
Guilds and Factions
Doncatti College: a college of art within the city dedicated to artistic expression. Funded by a council of guilds and nobles.
Coraggissio: A secretive society of artificers and mages who construct new defences and magical devices.
The Pegasari: A branch of the city guard who are known for their unique fighting techniques.
Bonecollectors: The infamous bounty hunting guild has a chapterhouse here.
History
Falzeno has been continuously inhabited since the First Age. A small Sun Elf fortification existed on the present site, and during the empire's decline it was largely occupied by human tribes from the region. Falzeno also housed the second city of the Ancient Altruscians, and was a key government site during the Marcian Empire.
During the fall of the empire, the city was a strategic target for invaders. It established itself as an indepdenent city state during the late second age, before going on to found the Duchy of Altruscia. Its central position within key Marcian trade routes meant it became a commerical boom town, leading to the local government patronising numerous arts and political studies, which led the birth of the Awakening. For the entrity of the Third Age, Falzeno has been the cultural capital of the West, with it being the centre of theatre, sculpture, literature, and art.
Architecture
The city is a mixture of designs, but is largely built in the new architectural styles of The Awakenings, with constant redvelopment to its older quaters constantly taking place. The are remnants of the Ancient Marcian empire and dark age architecture left in key administrative buildings. Falzeno being a centre of architecture and design as meant the city has one of the highest skylines in a human kingdom.
Geography
The city is on the trisection of three rivers, the Virgil, the Santa Katrina, and the Rio Nero. Where these rivers meet is common to decadely floods, but multiple city defences mean this flood water is pushed into the poorer distrcits of Lower and Upper Bacino. The city is built on the lower end of the Altruscian Pennaries and has nine hills within its walls.
Natural Resources
The City has plenty of natural water from its three rivers with some fish stock to be found in them; although that is a rapidly depleting resource due to pollution. The exterior of the city is built on fertile highlands with several farms, pastures, and vineyards on the outlying lands of the city walls. The hills also contain several sources of marble and stone that are shipped in.
Alternative Name(s)
Falzenicus, Farash'Toon, Farazdriel.
Type
Large city
Population
1'125,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Falzenians.
Owner/Ruler
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