Were Italian city-states were important centers of trade between central Europe and the Mongol Empire?

The Mongol Empire and the Italian city-states did not engage in direct trade. Mongol control centered in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, while the Italian city-states were maritime republics mainly active around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea coasts, particularly between Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and the Iberian Peninsula.

Although there were cultural, religious, and intellectual exchanges between regions affected by the Crusades (including those around the Mediterranean) and some of the territories touched by the Mongols' influence, substantial interactions, including large-scale commercial endeavors between Mongol centers and the trading hubs within Italy at that time have no concrete and well-evidenced examples.