This scholarly volume investigates how capital cities become centers of cultural authority and symbolic power. Taking Paris as a major reference point, it compares European experiences from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, examining the interplay of political status, artistic production, intellectual networks, public memory, and urban form. The work treats capitals not simply as administrative seats but as contested spaces where national identity, prestige, and cultural influence are produced and displayed. Its historical scope connects long-term transformations in European urban life with changing ideas about culture, representation, and metropolitan power.

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