the foothills [Lore] Roam

[Bellosh]

Roam - A City of Art, Beauty and Love

 

Ranking among the great cities of Equestria, Roam exhibits a status matched only by the likes of Canterlot and Manehattan. Almost just as old as Canterlot itself, Roam is quite a well-storied center of trade and culture. The city has also developed a reputation as an especially romantic destination for couples; a reputation that local businesses are all too happy to make use of.

 

And it’s not hard to see why it’s so, for Roam is built on a series of islands within a lagoon. The only ways to travel from island to island are via stone bridges or on boat though the many canals. Complementing the canals and their granite embankments in the city center are majestic classically-styled buildings modeled after ancient pegasi architecture. It’s no secret that the founders of Roam envisioned their municipality like a cloud city built on the ground, and it certainly shows in the city’s amphitheatres and marble palaces. Intermixed with the vast central square, various smaller plazas, and brick multi-story apartments along the canal banks, Roam is certainly a beautiful locale.

 

Roam earned its prosperity long ago though once serving as a great port. In centuries past, merchants established themselves in the ocean-side city to facilitate trade between Equestria and lands far beyond the ocean. Numerous merchants and families who grew extremely wealthy lavishly spent their money funding the opulent structures still dotting the city today along with other works of art. Even though other cities like Manehattan and Stalliongrad have since risen to challenge Roam’s economic supremacy, many artists still prefer making their names in the place that has produced some of ponykind’s greatest painters, sculptors, and architects.

 

With all of these elements combined, it’s no wonder that modern Roam finds itself stereotyped as a city for lovers. Thanks to countless stories and paintings depicting Roam as such, a substantial portion of the city’s businesses exist to cater specifically to the needs of honeymooners and other couples, especially in certain districts right outside the more tourist-populated hotspots. Hotel operators, musicians, gondoliers, and chefs among other ponies can all make good business by playing up the romance as much as possible. Outside of the so-called ‘romance districts’ however, a pony can potentially get by in Roam without being swarmed by loving couples from out-of-town.

~Hitchhiker's Guide to Equestria