Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is a city and unitary authority area in South Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about 12 miles (19 km) east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. The City of Newport, which includes rural areas as well as the built up area, is governed by the unitary Newport City Council, and has a population of 140,200, making it the seventh most populous unitary authority in Wales.
According to Census 2001 data the population of the core built-up area was 116,143, making it the third most populous city in Wales. For European statistical purposes, Newport is included within the Cardiff and South Wales valleys metropolitan area, which has a population of nearly 1.1 million.
Bronze Age fishermen settled around the fertile estuary of the River Usk and later the Celtic Silures built hillforts overlooking it. In AD 75, on the very edge of their empire, the Roman legions built a Roman fort at Caerleon to defend the river crossing. According to legend, in the late 5th century Saint Woolos church was founded by Saint Gwynllyw, the patron saint of Newport and
