Cattala | Last Update: 21st November 2012

[ThomasK]

No photo editing. No trimming. Pure, Cattala.

Welcome to the Holy Church of Calora, at the heart of the Realm's divine faith. Behind these walls reside the most powerful men in Cattala, that can empower a revolution or wipe out a government. This city has the ability to cast a cloud over the whole country.

In such a majestic and significant city, I deemed it vital that I spent such a lengthy period of time on what is really a small area. That's why I won't be updating Cattala again for many, many moons until I am absolutely certain that it is ready for publication.
I've built cities, towns, ports and villages, but until I feel it's the best it can be, I don't want to rush out updates like I have done in the past.
So I hope you will stay, and wait, for the return of Cattala. I'm sorry it may be a long time coming, but rest assured - it will be worth it.

Thank you for your patience,

Thomas

[Ol.S / Benoit]

Well, I can see some of my LOT work here !

Watch out, your are in the inactive section of the best sellers...

Anyway, this is good but I'm not convinced by the combination of the Arab & Med architecture here, but why not !
Hope you can update again.

[ThomasK]

Well, I can see some of my LOT work here !

Watch out, your are in the inactive section of the best sellers...

Anyway, this is good but I'm not convinced by the combination of the Arab & Med architecture here, but why not !
Hope you can update again.

Thanks Benoit - I was hoping someone could move this back to the main best sellers area. And once I start updating again (probably after my exams) I will be explaining why there is Arab architecture there. It's being removed and replaced by modern buildings in places as you can see, which gives a good indication about what's happening.

[chester]

i just discovered this beautiful MD. I love the color palate and building style your using. can't wait to see more.

[Allein]

Very nice I love the district near to the church.

[kelis]

The last picture is just amazing, I love the little details !! Great job my friend.

# Jonathan

[rooker1]

Fantastic looking city!! 
That over view is stunning and I would love to see more at that zoom if possible.
Robin

[ThomasK]

[centre]

Thank you for your kind words Robin, Jonathan, Chester and A.Gates.
Welcome back to Cattala. Over the past few months I've been restructuring and rebuilding my City Journal, starting with Celeste, the capital city of Cattala.

One of the busiest places in Celeste is the Celeste Centrale station. I think you can guess what that translates as. The station is the third-busiest in Cattala and forms part of the Railway Triangle between Jennai, Calora and the capital, the three notable cities in Cattala.



As day turns to evening, let's visit a place with a view of the city's defining feature - the Fiume Celestica, a river that once flowed through the heart of the city. I say once, because in the 19th century the river was dammed upstream and a canal network was built around the city, diverting the flow of the river and stopping the frequent winter floods that plagued the city.



Now to a new part of the city, one I never built in the original version of Celeste. The Stadio di Lady Eliza forms the centrepiece of an urban renewal project near the railway station that has taken more than three decades to complete. A sea of glass and steel dominates the area, with modern apartments and office blocks looming over the old city.



That heart being, Alder Hill. The area was once renowned for its aristocratic residents and the theatres that they frequented. Here's a prime example, located on the corner of a busy shopping road that leads up the the park at the centre of the enclave, which is surrounded by the Fiume Celestica.



The British renamed the city centre when they colonised the island in 1815, after a row of trees that lined the streets of the Parisian style city. The city has a clear definition between the homes of the wealthy and those who served them - most maids and butlers resided in the cramped upper floors of buildings or in separate buildings altogether. In this part of Celeste, the affluent lived across the river to the working classes. Now, even the servants quarters are upmarket homes and designer shops.



These days Alder Hill is most famous for its boutique stores, government offices and the Parliament building. Both the National Assembly and the Senato del Regno are based in Parliament, with various ministerial offices occupying upper floors of the landmark. Across the park is the largest police station in the realm, the Celeste Metropolitan Police headquarters, built in the 18th century.



To end today, an overview of the Alder Hill area at night. I hope to have further updates soon, but I can't make any guarantees.

[/centre]

[Nanami]

Nice picture you have there Thomas! love the city scenes!

[RickD]

Wow, it looks great. 

[ThomasK]

976: Thank you very much.
RickD: Thanks!

[centre][/centre]

Summer has returned, which means it's time to visit the breadbasket of Cattala once more. Last year we focused on Ontano island, in the south east of Cattala, quite a lot, but this time we're moving further north into the mainland.
Lessito is the biggest province in terms of area, covering all of the eastern lands of the mainland and stretching into the north as well. Despite this, it is the most sparsely population region, with no substantial cities and a rural heartland full of villages and hamlets communities.

Today we're stopping by the Darna comuni, which is straddled by the A5 road from San Pietro to the Ontano Bridge. Darna services is one of the larger ones along the road, which is popular with holidaymakers going from the city to the beaches of the east.



Recently the government has announced a large investment in the infrastructure of rural areas like Darna. This bridge is being rebuilt to cope better with flooding and more traffic, as it formed a bottleneck at peak times and was regularly closed in the winter, cutting off many hamlets from the a-road.



The village of Yewell is a small community outside of Darna, north of the busy carriageway. Here, a secondary road is the easiest way to travel from the village to the rest of the province. Farm life dominates this little place, with sprawling orchards and vineyards as far as the eye can see. In summer, the town is buzzing with workers picking fruit and taking it off to market and warehouses.



Yewell is fortunate enough to have its own industrial buildings to store fruit and vegetables in, before they get taken to the shops of the country and the shipyards for sale overseas. This year, the storage facilities will be overflowing with juicy grapes which will soon be taken to Jennai for brewing into some of the country's most delicious wines.



Besides its heritage for wine making, Yewell's other claim to fame is the Saint Martin's Retreat Centre, where young people from the cities come on pilgrimage to rest, relax and develop spiritually and emotionally. It's a very popular venue for school retreats and a way for urban children to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.



But not everything is rosy and perfect in Lessito...



As you'll find out in the next update.

[Nanami]

Nice farm area! I like the bridge construction!

[noahclem]

Great updates    I especially like the way the stadium and the train station look in the last update 

[Schulmanator]

These rural pix rock my world! Great stuff!

[ThomasK]

Welcome back to Lessito, where we're making our second visit to Darna comuni. The province is typically synonymous with fruits, rolling hills and bountiful harvests, but Yewell village has a darker secret that is hidden behind the traditional Lessitan setting.



Under British rule, the village of Yewell was founded and prospered as a small farming community, like dozens of others in the southern plains of Cattala. During the Second World War, the kingdom was occupied by Italian and German forces fighting in North Africa and, in 1943, fighting to prevent the British and Americans from getting a hold on southern Italy. Sonnenshein was created after the fall of Celeste and the execution of the King of Cattala. Loyalists and monarchists alike continued to support the King and were bitterly opposed to Italian occupation, as well as the presence of German troops heading to the North African Campaign.

Throughout the three years of occupation, thousands of dissidents were detained at Sonnenshein and hundreds never returned. The area became a symbol of the harsh treatment the anti-fascist population endured as those that survived told their tales of torture, prolonged imprisonment and starvation.



Those that died during internment at Sonnenschein were buried near to the camp's headquarters in Yewell. The farm that was used as a burial site was abandoned after its owner committed suicide during questioning after spying for the resistance movement on the camp, and is now partially a memorial for those that died in the area during the war.



Yewell is still overshadowed by the infamous prison, which was the most high profile in all of Cattala. Due to the relatively short period of time that German officers and generals were based in Cattala, the country had few other internment camps when liberated in 1943 and the southern Italian troops who spent much of the war in Cattala were less inclined to the cruel torture methods of their anti-Comintern allies.

The buildings occupied by secret police and army officers during the war have all since returned to their residential or agricultural purposes, with many reflecting on their wartime use through name or small memorial plaques, which dot the roads of Yewell village. Only two buildings from the camp remain, the former headquarters of the officers in Lessito, with cellars and subcellars filled with concrete. After the war, the returning villagers decided to try and remove all trace of the fascist occupation from their community. But the shadow of shame still hangs over Yewell.



Next time, we'll be back to Lessito's old self, visiting a less harrowing area of the province.

[RickD]

You are telling a thought-provoking story here. And the pictures fit very well in the mood of this update (*). Great work. 



(*) But I had to crank brightness, contrast and gamma all the way up to see anything. But this might be just be my monitor.

[ThomasK]

RickD: I see what you mean about the brightness. In future updates, especially night-based ones, I'll increase brightness more. Thank you for the constructive comment!

[ThomasK]

Today we're continuing our trip through southern Lessito, weaving our way north and south of the A25. The comuni of Dallia is our next stop, centred around the market village of Dallia la Costa. As with much of the region, the area is dominated by agriculture but is also a place of outstanding natural beauty.



By the village centre is what led to its creation, the crossroads. This dirty road was once a thriving transport link between the cities of the west and the markets, ports and islands of the east. Nowadays its bypassed by the dual carriageway, but the road remains busy with local freight and villagers.



La Marcia farm is a defining estate in Dallia. Its golden fields spread over a vast area and sway gently in the summer breeze. The sight inspired a poem by Cattala's Poet Laureate in 1947, just after the decimation of World War Two. The golden bloom was said to have "lightened his soul and sparked hope".



Small hamlets and other villages dot the Dallia countryside, mainly alongside the trade road. Alareas was discovered to have had a literacy rate of just 24% in 1965 due to the lack of rural education provision. Since then, its risen to 100% in line with the rest of the country. Farmers just didn't need to read and write, and the nearest schools were dozens of miles away.



Dallia is a recognised area of beauty, and regularly features in Lessito tourist adverts. And with good reason, too. The rural life of long summer days, gentle streams, golden fields and green expanses attracts many visitors and city dwellers hungry for a piece of the good life.



The rolling hills and fields of the eastern kingdom provide this lifestyle for 359,000 residents of Lessito, with more than two thirds living in non-urban areas like Dallia. Here we see the orchards of the comuni's valley that eventually descends down to the coast.



But what this region is most famous for is its vineyards that cover the land in a sea of green in the months leading up to harvest season. Cattala is the world's fifth-biggest wine exporter, with Lessito leading the way in production of the white variant.



To end with tonight, a view of one of Dallia's vineyards at night. The traffic trundling by has changed over the years, but the casa and the crop remain the same.

[Framly]

Great farm shots

[Dantes]

I missed a few updates. I'm sorry.  I am thrilled with the pictures. I like the city.  The new buildings are very realistic. I see myself in Spain. 
And fantastic farms