Santa Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: United States of America

Santa Monica is a city in its own right, but is surrounded on its land sides by suburbs of Los Angeles, so to the visitor it may seem to be part of that city. Its seaside location has made it well known as a tourist destination, especially for the famous Santa Monica Pier, on which you will find the Pacific Pier Amusement Park, which features a solar-powered Ferris wheel. Other attractions include the carousel located in Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome (an historical landmark building which was used for filming some scenes in the 1973 film 'The Sting'), and a roller coaster that runs around the outside of the park. There is no charge for admission to the park, but you will pay to take the individual rides.

I hope you guided Santa to the right country to start his worldwide voyage delivering presents!

Answer: Cuba

Yes, there is a Santa Clara in California (USA), as well as several other states, but if you chose that to go here, you will have found that the rest of the matchups didn't work. The capital city of the province of Villa Clara was settled in 1689 by a group of just under 200 people, most of them from two estated families in the region, and the balance refugees from the constant pirate raids on their original residence, the town of Remedios. The original name for the settlement was Cayo Nuevo; then came Dos Cayos, Villa Nueva de Santa Clara, Pueblo Nuevo de Antón Díaz, Villa Clara and finally Santa Clara. The city is the site of burial of Che Guevara, because it was the site where he was one of the leaders in the final battle of the revolution that removed the government of Fulgencio Batista in 1958, clearing the way for the establishment of the new communist government of Fidel Castro.

There are, of course, a lot of other cities named after Saint Claire, to be found (among other locales) in El Salvador, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Peru - the Spanish conquistadors were clearly fond of this saint!

Answer: Colombia

Founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas, the city whose full name translates into English as "Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta" was the first Spanish settlement in Colombia. The city's airport is Simon Bolivar International Airport, named after the South American hero who led several countries in their struggle for independence in the early 19th century, and died here. He died of tuberculosis, at the age of 47, in his villa called La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, near the centre of the city, where you can visit a museum dedicated to his achievements.

Since Martha was a very popular saint, there are numerous cities, islands and regions named after her, but the Colombian one is where you needed to guide Santa to avoid getting him tangled up in a knot.

Answer: Brazil

Located in the northeastern state of Paraiba, Santa Rita is best known internationally as the location of the Engenho Gargaú Private Natural Heritage Reserve, where the blond capuchin monkey, previously thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in 2006. With fewer than 200 identified individuals, the species is considered critically endangered, but genetic analysis of the specimens that have been captured and examined shows sufficient genetic diversity to make the prospect of a viable population a reasonable prospect. The Reserve is also home to a small population of red-handed howler monkeys, another vulnerable species endemic to Brazil.

This Brazilian city is the largest of the many places named after Saint Rita of Cascia. Others include the site of a Mayan ruin in Belize, and over a dozen other Brazilian cities. Not to mention a good handful in the southwestern part of the United States!

Answer: Bolivia

This city, whose name translates into English as "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range", is the largest city of Bolivia. The first settlement was made in 1561 by Ñuflo de Chavez, who named it after his home town in Spain. That first site was about 200 km east of the city's current location on the Pirai River, where it settled down around 60 years later, after a number of moves in search of a better site (that is, one where the attacks from natives whose land was being invaded could be better defended). Over the years, it was the site of multiple conflicts between the Portuguese and Spanish governments, as it is located in the region where the two powers were struggling for control and expansion. Santa Cruz has a number of twin cities, including Santa Cruz in California, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Answer: Argentina

Usually just called Santa Fe (meaning Holy Faith), the full name helps to differentiate it from a number of other cities called Santa Fe, such as the one which is the capital of the American state of New Mexico. There are quite a few, named by Spanish conquistadors, and some by Portuguese explorers, as they spread the faith along with empire.

This one was founded in 1573 by Juan de Garay, but his location was in a slightly different site. The settlement was moved in 1653 because the regular flooding of the Cayastá River was proving problematic. Santa Fe became the capital of the province of Santa Fe when it was established as an independent district, having previously been part of the province of Buenos Aires.

Answer: Philippines

Located on the southern shores of Laguna de Baý, the largest lake in the Philippines, Santa Rose played a significant role in the country's development when it was the site of the signing of the Act of Independence in 1898. The settlement that was to evolve through a series of political manoeuvres and name changes was established in 1571 as a suburb of Tabuco, with the name of Biñan, by Juan de Salcedo. As a municipality with the name of Santa Rosa (in honor of Saint Rose of Lima), it was established in 1792. While you're visiting, you might like to visit Enchanted Kingdom, an amusement park with seven themed zones, all intended to provoke a sense of magic and enchantment. One of its featured rides is the Space shuttle roller coaster, which reaches a height of 11 stories, and turns passengers upside down six different times as they go. I'll stay on the ground, thanks.

I hope you managed to guide Santa to the right Santa Rosa - there are an amazing number of them, but only one with the qualification of Laguna added.

Answer: Russia

We couldn't have included Russia's second-largest city if this quiz had been written between 1914 (when its name was changed to Petrograd) and 1991 (when it reverted to Saint Petersburg, after having been known as Leningrad since 1924). Its location as a port on the Baltic Sea has made it economically and politically significant over the years. It served as the Russian capital from 1713 to 1728, and again between 1732 and 1918.

While you are here, be sure to visit The Hermitage, one of the world's largest museums. It is located in a complex of six buildings, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, when she received a large collection of paintings, and opened for visitors on 7 December, St Catherine's Day, in 1852. The collections include Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts, as well as work from the Renaissance, Baroque and modern epochs. This is the place to go if you want to see da Vinci's 'Madonna Litta', Titian's 'Penitent Magdalene', Rembrandt's 'Danaë', van Gogh's 'White House at Night', Picasso's 'Absinthe Drinker', and so much more!

Answer: France

Actually, France has multiple places named Saint-Denis, but the one I had in mind was the commune located just under 10 km north of the centre of Paris. It has been around for quite a while, with a Roman name meaning "Catllius's estate", a reference to the Roman citizen who owned the area, until the third century CE. Around 250 CE Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was martyred on the hill of Montmartre and buried in the area that now bears his name.

It was not long afterwards that his grave became a pilgrimage site, and the abbey of Saint Denis was constructed on the site.

The area then took his name. During the French Revolution it was temporarily renamed Franciade, as a statement of rejection of traditional religion, but Napoléon Bonaparte restored its previous name in 1803.

Answer: Spain

Tenerife is the largest of the Spanish-owned Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean. Santa Cruz is capital and largest city on the island of Tenerife, and the second-largest city in the Canaries, of which it is joint capital along with Las Palmas.

The area was inhabited by the Guanche people for several thousand years before Alonso Fernández de Lugo landed there on 3 May to begin the Spanish conquest of the islands. One of his first actions was to erect a large wooden cross, as a reminder of the day of landing (May 3 being one of the days on the Catholic calendar dedicated to celebrations of the cross on which Jesus died).

By the start of the 21st century, Santa Cruz, one of Spain's busiest ports, had expanded to the point that it had virtually merged with nearby San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

There was talk for a while of an official merger, but the decision was made to keep them as two independent political entities.