I had some lucky incidents in my game. Byzantenes collapsed early so I could get Napoli right after Rome without having to declare war. Even Belgrado was free to take and didn't draw the Turk's attention. Spain was busy with the Moors and HRE got attacked by Poland and Russia. For some reason even France was my friend and opened borders after a while.
For the goals I mainly use Great Persons. I bulbed Banking with a Merc and planned to use an Artist for Patronage. But I didn't have to since the Arabs traded me Philosophy which is a big benefit.
--> San Marco, Sistine and Catholic Cathedral in Fiorenza. Leaning Tower in Rome. Opera House in Venice.
After getting the last required tech you can start increasing the culture percentage to help achieve your goal and also get rid of any unhappiness. I used 2 Artists for a Great Work in Venice and Roma. But make sure to wait until Renaissance era for a bigger bonus.
[[ Btw: Would it help to put culture to 100% before a stability check so that you get the best happiness bonus? Or would this on the other hand influence your economy points? ]]
After the French traded me their map I even got the circumnavigation. And with my 2nd Merchant I bulbed Printing Press to get the shrine. Got lucky again because HRE and the French turned Protestants and Spain didn't even declare war on anyone. [[ Broken? It seems like they tolerated the new sects. ]]
From now on it was just picking up easy cities on the mediterranean after the Turks and Moors collapsed. The biggest danger is actually a collapse which happened to me when I discovered Steam Engine right before taking the last city for the UHV3. So make sure to avoid stability checks during your conquest.
(Apollo mission) !
