We name ourselves Romanians after The Eternal City. And thus, we have our own "version" of Rome.
Located on seven hills like its predecesor, the city of Iasi lies in the north-east of Romania, close to the former part of Romania, the Moldova Republic (Iasi also belonging to the initial Moldova province).
The city is almost splitted by the Bahlui river from west to east. Although the city has celebrated the honored age of 600 years just last year, it's not a very big city. With a stable population of around 300k inhabitants, Iasi is the 3rd or 4th city as size from Romania.

Still marking my car's registration plate with the IS indicative, the former Capital city of Romania (now Bucharest), still remains the cultural Capital of the country (at least in my proud opinion).
Maybe the best known symbol of Iasi is actually the Palace of Culture, a neogothic style building, formerly an Administrative Palace, built around 1920 on the site of the medieval royal Court (although Moldova never had a king - it was called a "ruler' lb. rom "domnitor").

From the same category there are plenty of edifices. In a short enumeration there is the "Three Hierachs" church (once gold plated but pillaged by the roaming mongols ), the Roznovanu Palace (currently the City Hall), the Bals House (hosting the Opera nowadays), the Cetatuia and Golia monsteries (both still having the old big-thick defense walls), the Traian Hotel (designed and built by the famous Gustave Eiffel) and the St. Sava church (or monastery - don't know for sure) which is one of the rarest teutonic arhitectures this far east of the Europe.

In Iasi took place the first unification of the Romanian Principates under Al. I. Cuza. For this, he earned the right to name the University, one of (if not the) oldest in the country. The greatest historian of Romania, Nicolae Iorga, once said something like "there is a total waste of time if you go to Romania and not go to see the city of Iasi". And he was  (now dead, assassinated by the legionnaires, somewhere in the '30s) so right. You can find as sublime a walk in spring on the Copou hill, when all the linden trees have blossomed. The perfume is so intense that you might think that you're in a tea shop :). Iasi it's also called "the city of the linden trees" because of their permanent presence and great number.

I think Iasi is amongst the first cities in Romania that had a public transportation by trams, somewhere around 1900 (I think the trams today we're not changed since then :P).

Yeap, definitely a city to visit. And when the city has finished telling its story then just wait to hear about its citizens. Probably not too skilled in the art of a high-life society but surely the best heart-driven and compassionate people to have around when the storm is coming.