Which cities controlled the main trade routes in Europe and in connection with the East?

Which cities controlled the main trade routes in Europe and in connection with the East? What kind of relationship did they have with each other?

These are cities in the north of modern Italy. It then did not exist as a single state, in the northeast was the Venetian Republic, in the northwest – the Genoese. Their economy was based on trade and crafts, they had a strong navy. With each other, they could sometimes fight because of a conflict in spheres of influence, for example, in 1256 there was a war.

In addition to them, there was another less well-known trading republic with its capital in the city of Pisa.

The Hansa was a union of the trading cities of northern Europe; it existed from the 12th century for about 500 years. The number of cities during the heyday was about 130-160. The leader was Lubeck in northern Germany. The Hansa covered cities from London in England to Novgorod, which was then a veche republic. The interests of the union were political and economic.