The Greek scholars fled to Italy, where an interest in Greek learning had been stimulated by Greek scholars who had already settled there and had generated an interest in the ancient Greeks as well as the Romans among Italian humanists, which then became a feature of the Italian Renaissance. Ancient Greek manuscripts had been lost in Western Europe and Byzantine scholarship only became fully available in the west after the Council of Florence of 1438-39, which the Byzantine emperor attended to discuss a union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Some Greek scholars settled in Italy around this time and were later joined by learned Greek refugees. Gemistus Pletho lectured in Florence on the difference between Plato and Aristotle and reintroduced Plato to Western Europe. His lectures inspired Cosimo de' Medici to found the Accademia Platonica in Florence. George of Trebizon was summoned to Venice in 1430 or 1438. Theodorus Gaza he became professor of Greek in the newly founded University of Ferrara in 1447. Basilios Bessarion settled in Rome in 1438 and his residence became a centre for the study of humanism and and Greek learning. It also acted as a centre for Greek scholars and refugees. He supported the commissioning of translations of Greek manuscripts into Latin.