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While normally the population of Germany would make this not likely, what If at some point the Holy Roman Empire takes control of the entirety of Italy. After this at some point the Renaissance or something similer occurs boosts the economic power of Italy. From charts I have seen from this period while north Italy is not likely to dominate the HRE, the Italian peninsula as a whole had a population comparable, if not larger then the German population of the HRE and a larger economy as well. So my question is what does a Italian dominated Holy roman empire look like, what is it likely to do diplomatically and expansion wise and finally if a Protestant reformation still occurs how does that look with Italy added to the mix as a more dedicated participant does Italy save Catholicism or will the rebellion expand and take on a more anti Italian role, will the southern German states stay with Italy and if the HRE eventually fractures, with less Germans in the HRE which would expand Italian control more, is there any potential for the HRE to serve as a basis for reviving a legitimate roman state by unifying a Italian dominated HRE down the roud?
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