Cattala (AIN)

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Today we have a special update, not based on any particular cities. At the moment the AIN Expo 2011 is ongoing, and as part of that I'm showing how the Cattalian education system works. So, here's some images of schools and universities from across Cattala.

There are five stages to education in Cattala – Viviao, Elementare, Secondaria, Accademia and Università. Cattala has State, Private and Religious schools but all follow this system. State schools are fully funded by the Government, whilst religious schools obtain up to 50% of their funding from their religious community.

Viviao is the first stage of education a child enters. Between the ages of 2 and 4, children are offered part-time places at Viviao Infante schools. Between the ages of 4 and 7, children are offered full-time places at Viviao schools. In 2010, 96% of Elementare children had attended Viviao, and it is an informal introduction to learning, mainly through playing and fun activities.

Elementare is the first stage of compulsory education. Children join Elementare school in the academic year of their seventh birthday, and leave at the age of 11. At Elementare school, there are no formal examinations, and it is focused on teaching children basic skills.

Secondaria Scuola is the second stage of compulsory education. Students attend Secondaria school from the age of 11, after finishing Elementare, and leave at the age of 16, to go to an apprenticeship or Accademia.

Accademia is the last stage of compulsory education. Accademia is the equivalent of college and is normally attended by people aged between 16 and 18. In Accademia, students study subjects of their choice which are provided by that Academy and they are much more specialised than at Secondaria level.

Università is the Cattalian name for University, where adults who have finished compulsory education can study for degrees. The largest Universities in Cattala are Jennai City, Celeste, Italia Gennaio, Calora and Lessito. A full update is in the pipeline, so normal service will be resumed soon!

[ThomasSimpson 466]

We begin today’s look at Cattala’s media outlets in the heart of Celeste – Franogei. Royal Media International, or RMI, is Cattala’s public service broadcaster.

Here’s a close up of the main offices of RMI One and RMI Two. Cattala’s two most-watched channels are produced, broadcast and often televised from these two buildings.

To the south of those offices is the main production facilities for RMI Three, the digital channel that was launched recently.

Here we see the main broadcasting centre for RMI News 24 – Cattala’s oldest and most watched news channel. 24 hours a day, news from around the world is broadcast across the Mediterranean and beyond from this building.

Cattala’s fourth channel is Quattro, which is based in Vittoria, Celeste. Quattro is owned by the MIP group and it broadcasts Italian language shows.

Leaving Celeste, the head offices of Channel 3, the main rival to RMI, are based in the centre of Altura. Channel 3 is bigger than Quattro, and was launched before RMI Three, meaning that it is ahead of that channel in the television guide.

To end today, a look at the headquarters of CNS, a rival news channel to RMI News 24. It is based opposite the RMI Three building and is part of the Media Village that was created from excess land owned by RMI during the redevelopment of the Franogei Riverside area.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Whoa!I really like that nightshot on the last pic!It looks awesome!

[+Guest Member 193110]

Very beautiful work.

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Thank you both.

Welcome back to the town of Seina, in Monte Calida province. Before we start today’s tour of new areas of the town, let’s look at the local Church at night.

The centrepiece to the new area is the Palace of Seina, which is home to the Duke of Monte Calida, currently Prince Paulo Bonnecelli. The palace is one of many owned by the Crown across the province, but this is the principal residence of the Duke.

The Palace was still under construction when we last visited the east of Seina, as you can see in the grey image. The river has now been allowed to follow it’s natural course again and a village has been built around the palace.

The community of Idrico Arco was built rapidly after the completion of the palace and has continued to expand. Many people wanted to live in an area regarded as affluent and wealthy, and living near such an example of that is a unique opportunity outside of Celeste.

The river is the heart of Idrico Arco – it’s name means comes from the Italian for Arch of Water – and links it to the rest of Seina. For the village to be built, bridges had to be constructed and it took large amounts of resources and time to divert the flow of water and assemble the series of bridges on-site.

Below is a mosaic of Seina, looking in a western direction.

Seina is a different project to all of my others in this journal – it’s not based in a specific time, it just grows. So I hope you liked today’s update.

  Edited August 16, 2011 by ThomasSimpson  

[Schulmanator 5,787]

A very interesting set of updates on this page. Nice work and well thought out. I like it.

[+Guest Member 193110]

Fantastic town.

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Thank you both. I'm going away for the weekend so there won't be another update for a few days... so where would you like to go next?

[Benedict 3,119]

The RMI hq looks amazing at night.

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Welcome back to Ontano, in Lessito Province. It should be the middle of harvest season now, but heavy rains have forced farmers to push back their harvest date.

Driving conditions overnight have been hazardous, and the smaller roads have become impassable. Rain has been falling throughout the night and visibility is very low.

But, by this morning, the rain had eased and dawn was a welcome sight. Unfortunately in La Marchie, some of the farms have lost their harvests this year, and land has been abandoned in some cases.

Thank you for visiting Cattala today.

[Benedict 3,119]

The towns and fields look great at night - thx for another well-constructed update.

[packersfan 666]

Beautiful, something different that I could never do. Just amazed with the work you do with so much custom content. I love the small farming villages.

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Lovely town you have there!

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Benedict: Thanks!

Packersfan: Thank you very much! It's taken me over 15 months to build up my plugins folder, so it's good to see that you like it.

Daniel: Thanks again!

Welcome to Fieranti province – where for the first time we aren’t in Calora. We’re up in the north of the province, in the small town of Allea. This is Allea, viewed from the east.

Here is the centre of Allea – a small community made up of a series of hamlets. The community is reliant on its agriculture, and hasn’t changed in centuries.

Fieranti is home to much of Cattala’s cattle stock, and most of the beef and milk found in markets and shops are from Fieranti’s cows.

One of the hamlets in Allea is Norbestia, north of the main town. Here you can see the harvest is underway, with the villagers busy collecting their crops for this year.

Finally, a glance at the village lake during the night.

  Edited August 28, 2011 by ThomasSimpson  

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Allea seems like a beautiful town...

I especially love the last pic, it seems like the shoreline is flourescent

[Schulmanator 5,787]

A delightful town! I like it.

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Thank you both.

Welcome back to Cattala, and to Seina. Today we’re starting off in the east of the town, in the industrial park near the new estate that we saw last time we visited. This area is surrounded by small rivers and streams, and is known as Aqueina.

In the heart of Aqueina, is the pond that we saw several entries ago. It’s fed by two streams – one coming from the south, and another from the east. Local wildlife thrives in this part of town.

Here we see Seina’s main train station. It’s small, but on weekdays it gets very busy with commuters travelling to Calora, the nearest of Cattala’s three largest cities.

To end today’s update, a panorama of Seina town. Since making this update, I have changed my street side mod to a better sandstone mod by Paeng. Click the link to see the image in better quality.

CLICK HERE: http://tiny.cc/g9s85

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Beautiful update- the mosaic looks impressive.

[+Guest Member 193110]

I was away and missed some updates. Great work.

[mroghy 3]

Although I am impressed (and curious about the reason) about the large use of Italian or Italian-sounding words, I would point out that the school grade before "elementare" is "asilo" (pre-school). "Viviao" is not even a word, but it is similar to "vivaio", that is either a farm or a breeding ground, as per artists or athletes.

Anyway, good work!

[Simbourgeois 139]

Amazing CJ indeed So much to see in every single update!

In particular, I liked update 60 - so colourful!

Keep it up

Best regards,

Simbourgeois

Mayor of Belleville

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Although I am impressed (and curious about the reason) about the large use of Italian or Italian-sounding words, I would point out that the school grade before "elementare" is "asilo" (pre-school). "Viviao" is not even a word, but it is similar to "vivaio", that is either a farm or a breeding ground, as per artists or athletes.

Anyway, good work!

Thank you for telling me that - I will make sure that I change that for next time. I have absolutely no idea where I got Viviao then - I must've made a spelling mistake after translating it.

From now on, I will dig out my Italian dictionary instead of using that pesky Google Translate that never seems to work.

Emperordaniel: Thank you again!

Algis: Thanks, it's good to see you back.

Simbourgeois: Thank you, and welcome to Cattala. Your comment means a lot - it's always nice to see new viewers.

[wwetom1 831]

What a page full of excellent updates! The night shots towards the top are great. Love the buildings you used there.

Allea looks great too. You did a nice job on that town. Keep up the great work!

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Welcome back to Jennai, the most populated region of Cattala. Today we’re in the north of the province, in the city of Confini.

Confini is a large town in the north of Jennai province, and is the closest town to the border with Monte Calida.

Confini used to be a major trading town between Jennai and the north of the country. In recent decades, the town has grown denser thanks to it’s strong transport links to Jennai city.

The town remains reasonably industrial, with a small yard where freight trains stop after travelling from northern and eastern Cattala, before travelling on to Jennai.

The town isn’t just an important railway route – it is also an important stop on the A1 motorway, which links Monte Calida to the M3 motorway between Jennai and Calora.

But the town is most defined by its sprawling residential areas. Several thousand people live in the old 18th century homes that were built as the town’s population rose sharply after the first trading route opened up.

I hope you liked Confini – next time we visit there will have been some changes made, so if you have any further suggestions please tell me and I will try to include them as I develop Jennai Province.

[+Guest Member 193110]

Beautiful city.

[Benedict 3,119]

Another great update - I like the name of this city, too!

[Simbourgeois 139]

I really like the way you mix the old and new buildings

Very nice and colourful update!

Best regards,

Simbourgeois

Mayor of Belleville

[ThomasSimpson 466]

Good evening and welcome to Ontano Island once more. Unfortunately, you seem to have arrived on another wet day. You would’ve been better off going to sunny old England, which is warmer than anywhere in Cattala this weekend.

Early autumn has been cold and wet in Cattala this year, with little respite for farmers to take their crops to market. Roads across Ontano have been damaged by the heavy rainfall in recent weeks.

The local streams and irrigation ditches have also struggled to cope with the amount of rain falling. Some areas in the valleys in central Ontano have seen over 25mm of rain falling every day for a week. The provincial government has had to call in environmental engineers to help prevent flooding.

However bad the weather, local residents are still venturing out. The village restaurant in Desulo has recently opened a second pub further down the road, due to a rise in customers from nearby towns and hamlets.

“Summer ends when the fields of Ontano are empty” is a famous saying in Cattala, which has led to October becoming known as the “Silent Field” month. All the bushes and fields you see here have had their crops harvested for this year – now the many farmhands have left and the orchards are bare again.

To end this 66th update, our sixth image is an overview of part of South Ontano at night. Good night from the farming island.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Nice photo editing there!

[Fox 1,444]

Nice update, can't wait to see those farmlands in the sunshine again!