>>509592369My only knowledge to draw from is what kenneth clark said. IIRC he said the ideas of the renaissance artists didn't really spread much (or am I thinking of the florentines?), so I don't think renaissance italy is beyond decent.
I know Venice had good glass, had lots of trade, made innovations in banking (double bookkeeping) and of course had the printing press, but it still doesn't seem very influential or important compared to Enlightenment UK/France/Germany or revolutionary France.
I think 19th century Germany is cool. Their meritocratic society allowed them to steamroll England in finding other chemical dyes and develop a chemical industry. 19th/20th century US is also cool - they had a lot of innovation.
It feels like a lot of the British Empire's wealth came from simple imperialism, and that's not as compelling to me as US/german innovation.