GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Geneva, situated on the Lake of Geneva, is a cultural, financial, and administrative centre that specializes in the manufacture of watches, jewellery, precision instruments, automobiles, chocolate, and clothes. It was an ancient settlement of the Celtic Allobroges and was later included in Roman Gaul. Geneva was a focal point of the Reformation, with the arrival in 1536 of John Calvin, whose rhetoric attracted many protestant refugees. Geneva became a cosmopolitan intellectual centre during the 18^th century, and was home to Voltaire, Rousseau, H.B. de Saussure, Jacques Necker, Albert Gallatin, and P. E. Dumont. In 1964, Geneva was made the seat of the International Red Cross; it was also the seat of the League of Nations from 1920-46. Geneva is headquarters for the International Labor Organization, the World Health Organization, and other international bodies. Notable buildings include the Cathedral of St. Pierre (12^th –14^thcentury), the University of Geneva (1473), and the Reformation monumental (1917). Geneva is the site of Geneva Conference and other high-level international meetings.