Milan (Milano in the Italian language, and Milán in Milanese dialect, from Latin, Mediolanum with the meaning of 'in the middle of the plain') is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most developed of Italian regions. It has about 1.3 million inhabitants (2004), but the Conurbation totals more than 4.5 millions ad the Metropolitan Area (Great Milan) totals about 7.5 million (2004). It is the capital of the region and is the economic-financial capital of Italy. It has for many centuries been recorded as Mailand, which is still the German name of the city today.
Its province lies in the western part of Lombardy; it covers an area of 1,982 sq. km and has a population of 3,707,210 (2001 census); in 1991 the population was 3,738,685. The province comprises 188 communes, ranging in population (2001) from (obviously) Milan (1,256,211) to Nosate (638); the commune of Milan has lost 113,084 inhabitants (8,3%), from 1991 to 2001.
The current mayor of Milan is Gabriele Albertini.
The town is famous for fashion firms and shops (via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele on the Piazza Duomo, reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall. Milan is one of the world capitals of fashion, like New York or Paris.
Another famed product of the city is the traditional Christmas sweet cake called Panettone.
It is presumed Milan 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 Saint Ambrose and emperor Theodosius I, the city became for a short time the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
After the Ostrogothic and Lombard periods, 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 Plague of 1349 Milan was one of the few places in Europe that was not touched by the epidemic. During the Renaissance Milan was ruled by dukes of the Visconti and Sforza families, who had 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 as Milan's overlord, but during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, which saw the city annexed into the French satellite states of the Cisalpine Republic, which itself became the Kingdom of Italy. After the end of the wars, the city became one of the main centers of Italian nationalism, reclaiming independence and the unification of Italy.
In 1859 (after the second of the Wars of Italian Independence) Austrian rule was ended by the kingdom of Sardinia (which transformed into the kingdom of Italy in 1861).
Being a critical industrial centre of Italy, Milan was target of continuos carpet bombing during World War II. The city was bombed even after Pietro Badoglio surrendered to the allied forces in 1943. In fact Milan was part of Mussolini's puppet state Italian Social Republic and an important command centre of the German Army stationed in Italy. When war in Italy was finally over, April 251945, Milan was heavily damaged and entire neighborhoods like Precotto and Turro were radically destroyed. After the war the city was reconstructed and became again an important financial and industrial centre of Italy. See also: Rulers of Milan.
Economy
Milan is the centre of many financial businesses, and its hinterland is an avant-garde industrial area.
Fiera Milano, the city's Exhibition Center and Trade Fair complex is one of the most important in the world. A new fairground is under construction in the north-western suburb of Pero and Rho, due to be opened in May 2005. This is Europe's largest open construction project and will make Fiera Milano the largest trade fair complex in the world.
The city has a large international airport known as Malpensa International Airport (MXP), located in Varese, Italy and connected at the downtown with the railway service called "Malpensa Express" (from Cadorna Station). Milan has also the Linate Airport (LIN) within the city limits (for european-national traffic) and connected with BUS line 73 (from S.Babila). The small Orio al Serio Airport (BGY) in Bergamo is used only for charter, low-cost and cargo traffic. Put together, the three airports make Milan air travel capital of Europe, with more than 30 million passengers a year.
Subway and tramway
Milan has 3 subway lines (1 red,2 green,3 yellow) and the system, called Milan Metro - "M", runs for more than 80 km. There is also a light metro-service called "Metrò S.Raffaele", that connects the S.Raffaele Hospital with the Cascina Gobba station (M2).
Extensions of line 1, 2 and 3 are under construction, giving more than 15 km of track with 10 new stations. Line 5 is also under construction and will be finished in the first half of 2008. Line 4 (link with downtown and Linate Airport) and 6 are in planning stages.
Milan also has one of the most extensive tramway systems in the world, with more than 286 Km of tracks, that connect the Great Milan.
Railway services
The Suburban Railway Service (called "S" Lines, the service is similar to French RER and German S-Bahn), composed by 8 suburban lines (10 from 2008), connects the Milan Metropolitan Area ("Great Milan"), and other cities, like Como or Varese. The Regional Railway Service (called "R"), instead, links Milan with the rest of Lombardy and with the national railway system.
Taxis
Milan has an efficient Taxi service, operated by private companies and licensed by the City of Milan (Comune di Milano). There is only one kind of taxis: white.
Prices go up based on time elapsed and distance traveled.
Pirelli Tower (seat of Lombardy Region and the highest italian skyscraper)
New Milan Fair Complex of M. Fuksas (in Rho-Pero)
Culture & Art
A greengrocer in central Milan with a sign in Milanese, the local dialect, claiming to be 'the oldest greengrocer of Milan' (l'ortolán püŝee vêcc de Milan)
Milan is the most important town in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala, theatre).
Olimpia Milano is a successful European basketball team that have won 3 European Cups, a World Cup, 3 Cup Winners' Cups, 2 Korac Cups and 25 National Championships.
The Amatory Rugby Club Milano have won 18 National Championships. Different ice hockey teams from Milan have won 29 National Championships between them.
Milan and Lombardy are candidate for the Summer Olympic Games of 2016 (Milan-Lombardy 2016).
