The empress cities : urban centres, societies and economies in the age of Maria Theresia von Habsburg

The reader will be able to start a journey through the Empire, from the heart of the Continent to the Italian peninsula, Trieste and Mediterranean and the history of each city and urban system becomes the common thread of history of those areas, of the transformations they underwent and the relationship they had with the Empire. Urban phenomenon could indeed be the starting point for an analysis of the imperial policies and dynamics. The growth of cities and urban systems may be the cause of contradictions characterizing the mythical spaces we commonly call ‘Mitteleuropa’, where past and present have always been in conflict. In fact, the cities were not the passive result of the policies of the Vienna Court, but active protagonists of their own history. In this way, in the context of continue negotiations with the State, they had a profound impact on the imperial policies in the 18th century.