International diplomacy in the modern sense of the word can be traced back to the Renaissance period and Italian city-states, such as Milan, Tuscany and Venice. First emabassies (hence the name: ambassador) were established in the thirteen century. As with many other cultural developments of that time, this system gradually spreaded throughout Europe, beginning with the first formal embassy being established in 1455 by Milan in France. By 16th century, the embassy system encompassed the whole western Europe. Although the reality for which the diplomatic system was designed (a constellation of independent, roughly equal states) started to crumble with the emergence of global superpowers of 20th century, the diplomatic tradition started in Renaissance Italy remained the respected norm for centuries to come.