Florence was a financial and trading center of Europe during the Renaissance when Thomas Cromwell travelled there. That economic power and probably that cosmopo

Florence was a financial and trading center of Europe during the Renaissance when Thomas Cromwell travelled there. That economic power and probably that cosmopolitan atmosphere were what lay the ground for cultural development, specifically for the resurgence in arts and in scientific thinking. Even with the internet we see that artistic and scientific output is uneven across the world. There are places where ideas thrive more than in others. For example, if you contribute to the research frontier in physics, chemistry, or computer science, you are very likely to be located in one of the few centers of thinking in your field.