8 Cities and the Artforms They Gave to the World

Whether it’s because of a particular landscape, a rich resource, or a funny quirk of history, many kinds of art and crafts are forever linked to one particular place. Here are the unique local art forms to look out for on your travels.

In about the year 1000, Venice’s government ordered that all glassblowing workshops be moved to the nearby island of Murano. Not only were officials afraid of starting a fire in Venice’s city center, they also wanted to help the city’s glassblowing geniuses keep their secrets from prying foreign rivals.

During the start of the 20th century, Mexico’s finest artists were encouraged by the government to paint murals throughout the city. Not only were these murals intended to beautify Mexico City, they were also a means of inspiring patriotism following the Mexican Revolution.

The tradition of muralism in modern Mexican art has only grown since Rivera’s time. Mexican artists both in Mexico City and beyond continue to use this traditional art-form to promote dialogue about Mexican history, identity, and politics.

People interested in swordsmanship, or even kitchen cutlery, have most likely heard the name Solingen before. In case you were wondering, Solingen doesn’t refer to a brand name. It’s actually a German city near Düsseldorf that has a long history of making the world’s best blades.

Dubbed the “City of Blades,” Solingen has been hailed since the Middle Ages for the high quality of its swords, daggers, and knives. Believe it or not, this tiny city still produces about 70 percent of Germany’s cutlery.

Tourists walking around Soligen will find evidence of the city’s famed sword making industry everywhere they look. In addition to old stone grinding wheels, there are plenty of statues, and even graffiti, of swords throughout the city’s center.

Solingen now has numerous museums where guests can learn about the city’s swordsmith heritage. The most popular museums include the Deutches Klingenmuseum, which tells the story of the region’s sword-making tradition, and the Balkhauser Kotten, where guests can make their own knives on an authentic stone wheel.

Although ballet has its origins in France and Italy, it has become one of Russia’s dominant art forms since at least the 17th century. Russian dancers were the first to formally separate opera and ballet, stressing the beauty of dancing technique over the importance of telling a coherent story. Today, ballet is as popular as ever in Russia and continues to be heavily sponsored by the government. 

Today, the Mariinsky Ballet is considered one of the finest troupes in the world and is recognized as an official ambassador for Russian culture. Mariinsky’s dancers perform at least 200 shows per year to packed houses.

The best place today to see this passionate art-form (which combines dance, guitar, and singing) is in the capital of Madrid. Some of Spain’s oldest and most respected flamenco clubs, most notably the Corral de la Moreía, are still thriving in the capital city.

Vienna’s reputation as the “City of Music” was cemented in the 19th century. During this era, often referred to as the “Viennese Classical Period,” masters like Beethoven, Schubert, and Johann Strauss were hard at work in Vienna composing their masterpieces.

Every year in May, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra invites the world to a massive outdoor concert in front of the Schonbrunn Palace. This “Summer Night Concert” attracts at least 100,000 spectators per year, making it one of Europe’s most popular classical music events.

Why do we always turn to Parisians for all things fashion? Well, most historians believe Paris owes its status as the premiere fashion capital to King Louis XIV (1638 – 1715). To suit his lavish tastes in fashion design, Louis invested heavily in fine fabrics and textile industries during his reign. Serious fashion designers relocated to Paris simply because it was easier to get the fabrics they needed there.

Parisian fashion blossomed in the 19th century thanks in large part to the Englishman Charles Frederick Worth who, while working in Paris, invented haute couture. In the 20th century, Coco Chanel opened her famous studio and forever changed female fashion industry, particularly by abandoning the fashion for corsets.

After World War II, Christian Dior further invigorated the Parisian fashion scene with his “new look.” Yves Saint Laurent again revolutionized global fashion in the 1960s with his ready-to-wear lines.

When we think of innovation in the artistry of film, Hollywood instantly comes to mind. Whether it’s the first film to use sound, the first use of Technicolor, or the animation innovations of Walt Disney’s studios, almost every groundbreaking film had its start in a Hollywood studio.

Before 1886, what we now know as Hollywood was little more than an agricultural community. After real estate investor H. J. Whitley visited this area, however, he immediately purchased the land and began transforming it into America’s movie capital.

Although the natural scenery was a major draw for young filmmakers, one of the more interesting reasons Hollywood attracted so much talent had to do with Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931). While he was alive, Edison held numerous patents for filmmaking equipment. This made it nearly impossible to create movies on the East Coast without getting Edison’s approval. Filmmakers who wanted freedom of expression decided to flee to California mainly because the cross-continental time lag disrupted Edison’s monopoly.