Mihai Denis

Londra

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. The
City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the
Romans as Londinium and retains boundaries close to its medieval ones.
London, as one of the world's global cities,exerts strong influence on its arts,
commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, health care, media,
tourism, and communications, and has sometimes been called the capital of
the world. London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages.
If the border of the metropolis is well defined, its internal structure is
immensely complicated and defies description. Indeed, London’s defining
characteristic is an absence of overall form. It is physically a polycentric city,
with many core districts and no clear hierarchy among them. London has at
least two (and sometimes many more) of everything: cities, mayors, dioceses,
cathedrals, chambers of commerce, police forces, opera houses, orchestras,
and universities. In every aspect it functions as a compound or confederal
metropolis.
London was unique among Europe’s capital cities in retaining its medieval
boundaries. Westminster and other suburbs were left to develop their own
administrative structures—a pattern replicated a hundred times over as
London exploded in size, becoming the prototype of the modern metropolis.
The natural lay of the land can be appreciated from several public
vantage points. Hampstead Heath offers the finest panorama over the central
basin of the metropolis. But from Shooters Hill, Upper Norwood, or Alexandra
Palace one has a choice of views: inward to the crowded skyline of the City and
West End or out to the open expanses of the Home Counties, the Thames
estuary, the South Downs, and the Weald.