Milan

Milan (in italian, Milano) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, probably the most important italian region. It has about 1.3 millions inhabitants, but the urban area totals about 4 millions. It is the economical capital of the region as well as of the rest of Italy.

It is the centre of the main financial business and avant-garde industrial region of Italy. Famous for italian fashion firms (via Montenapoleone) and typical sweet cake Panettone.

It is presumed it was originally founded by the Celts of Northern Italy around 600 BC and was conquered by the Romans around 222 BC, who gave it the name of Mediolanum. In the 4th century A.D., at the time of the bishop S. Ambrogio and emperor Teodosius, the city became the capital of the Western Roman Empire for a short time. After the decadence due to the barbaric invasions, the city re-gained its importance in the 11th century and led other italian cities in gaining semi-independence from the Holy Roman Empire. During the Renaissance Milan was ruled by dukes of the Visconti and Sforza families, who called artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante at their service. After trying to conquer the rest of northern Italy in the 15th century, Milan was conquered by France, and then by Spain, in the early 16th century. In the 18th century Austria replaced Spain, but after the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars the city became one of the main centres of italian nationalism, reclaiming independence and the unification of Italy. In 1859 (after the second of the Italian independency wars) Austrian rule was ended by kingdom of Sardinia (which transformed into kingdom of Italy in 1861).

Milan is the most important town in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala, theatre.

The main monuments and museums include the gothic cathedral (the Duomo), the S. Ambrogio paleo-christian church, the church of S. Maria delle Grazie (where the Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper fresco is located), the Castello Sforzesco , the Pinacoteca di Brera and museum Poldi-Pezzoli.

The city is home to two very important soccer teams, Milan A.C. and Internazionale Milano F.C., and the famous Monza Formula 1 circuit is located in the suburbs.

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Famous industries in Milan:

• Alfa Romeo
• Motta
• Alemagna
• Pirelli

Links: The site of the city http://www.comune.milano.it an external site of what is happening http://milano.iol.it