47.
Weimar: *
Weimar Classicism lasted from 1772 until 1805, and involved intellectuals such as Goethe, Herder, Schiller & Wieland. The city became an important cultural centre of Europe, home to luminaries, thinkers and writers and in music the piano virtuoso Hummel. It became a site of pilgrimage for the German intelligentsia since Goethe first moved to Weimar in 1775. He was active in civic duties while living there & served as Privy Councillor to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach for an extended period. In comparison to many major German states, the dukes' policy was liberal and tolerant in this period. The tombs of Goethe and Schiller & their archives, are found in Weimar; Goethe's Elective Affinities (1809) is set in & around Weimar.
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48.
Florence: *
Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici to control the city from behind the scenes. Although a democracy his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to new immigrants. The Medici were bankers to the Pope & this also contributed to their success. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo ("Lorenzo the Magnificent") in 1469. He was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci & Botticelli. An accomplished poet and musician, he brought composers and singers to Florence.