User:Morbiusgreen/sandbox

(Author's note: Anything in bold is the section where these edits will hopefully be posted, anything in italics is what I'll be adding to the article and anything not in italics is what's already there. I just wanted to put my additions in context)

Brescia
Middle Ages

In 774, Charlemagne captured the city and ended the existence of the Lombard kingdom in northern Italy. Notingus was the first (prince-)bishop (in 844) who bore the title of count (see Bishopric of Brescia). By 800, Brescia became home to many wealthy landowning families.

In 1439, Brescia was once more besieged by Francesco Sforza, captain of the Venetians, who defeated Niccolò Piccinino, Filippo's condottiero. By 1447 general hospitals began to be constructed in Brescia.

Early Modern era

By 1500, Brescia became one of Europe's leading cities in population, numbering around 49,000 citizens. Brescia has had a major role in the history of the violin.

Thenceforward Brescia and the province were a Venetian possession. ''Whereas most cities only had one rector, Brescia, due to its larger size, was one of the cities that had two rectors; a capitano and a protestá, the former controlling all matters military and financial while the latter controlling all matters of law and order. Brescia was considered by Venice to be a city of great strategic and economic importance and as such it would require the rectors to be men of great wealth just to fulfill their duties and obligations. From 1400 to 1500 Venetian influence in the city led to a change in architecture, an example being the Piazza della Loggia, one of the government buildings built during Venice's occupation of the city''. The Venetian possession of Brescia was disrupted by a painful incident of French conquest in 1512.

Palermo
Culture (subsection Music)

Music is one of the cultural exports from Palermo. Palermo is home to many famous theaters such as the Teatro Massimo, the Teatro di Verdura a Villa Castelnuovo, the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi, the Teatro Biondo, the Teatro Santa Cecilia, the auditorium of the Vincenzo Bellini music conservatory, and the Salone dello Steri.

During the 19th and early 20th century, Palermo played a big role in contributing many different musical periodicals throughout Italy such as La routa, which ran from 1840 to 1842 and Il corriere dei teatri, which ran in 1866. Even before Italy united, Palermo periodicals read as Italian periodicals, being compared to those in Milan. Palermo was also one of the cities that helped in the development of opera.

In September and October of 1943, the Red Cross organized concerts where members of the Palermo Opera Company as well as other guests would perform for soldiers in the Red Cross Theater. In 1949 the International Society for Contemporary Music chose Palermo as the site for its festival. For a time in the 60's, a festival known as Settimana per la Nuova Musica was held in Palermo. At the time it was very well known in the music world. In 1992, the Teatro Massimo started a program that provided a concert of Baroque style music which lasted for a few years.