I’ve come to love Chișinău: my home city in Moldova deserves the spotlight

European leaders visiting the Moldovan capital for a political summit will see a city rich in cultural influences and wine-making history

Whenever I brought friends from the UK home to Moldova, I always wanted to show them the countryside and its traditions, its beautiful hills, the stone-age settlements at Duruitoarea Veche in the north, and Lake Beleu in the south. I would rather show these off than my home city. But, I have now come to love Chișinău (pronounced Ki-shi-naw).

This is partly because I have learned more about the architecture of socialist modernism that dominates the city, and partly by seeing it through the eyes of visitors who experience the great food and wine, the charm of the low-rise buildings, and the abundant greenery.