Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, is a relatively small city — 660,000 people — that has played a big role in the region and in the country.  After the destruction of the Civil War, Nashville remade itself into a center for arts and education, such that it earned the sobriquet “Athens of the South.” The city has played a prominent role in the lives of major political leaders — among them Bill Frist and Al Gore — and possesses one of the most highly respected newspapers in the country, the Tennessean, as well as a fine university, Vanderbilt. It also boasts the state’s tallest building, home to AT&T and affectionately known as the “Batman Building” for its twin peaked towers that resemble the character’s sharp-eared cowl.