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General Information

We drove by car to Milano, Italy. Is is about 500 kilometres away from my hometown. Milan (Italian: Milano; Lombard: Milán (listen)) is the main city of northern Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. The city proper (Comune di Milano) has about 1,308,500 inhabitants (2004). The population of the urban area (Greater Milan La Grande Milano), comprising the core of Lombardy, is estimated, as of 2006, to be about 4,280,820 people. Finally, the official population of Milan Metro Area counts around 7,400,000 residents (2006). Milan has become one of the most highly developed urban centers in Europe.
By population, Milan is Italy's second largest city and the 3rd Metro Area of the EU. Municipal borders wrap a relatively small area—about one-eighth that of Rome—because of the historical high density of population centers in agriculturally rich Lombardy. The heavily urbanized area centered in Milan includes some Swiss territories in southern Canton Ticino: this does not imply any kind of administrative unity, though. Milan is an alpha world full service city in GaWc inventory.
The city is one of the world's major commercial and financial centers, and one of the wealthiest cities in the European Union. Milan is one of the world capitals of fashion—along with New York City, Paris, London, Tokyo—and design. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. The Lombard metropolis is famous for fashion firms and shops (via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo, reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall.

Panorama Panorama View: Piazzale Domo


Another famed Milanese product is the traditional Christmas sweet cake, called Panettone. Milan is also famous for the Alfa Romeo motorcar and for its silk production; but on the whole relies on its directional functions for the whole of Lombardy, its once proud and strong industrial base having been externalized throughout the region in the 60s-70s of the last century. The city hosted among other events the World Exposition in 1906, the football World Cup in 1934 and 1990, the football Euro Cup in 1980, and plans to host the World Expo of 2015.
Facts about the Travel
location Milano
date 27.05.2005 - 25.05.2005
country Italy flag
traveled by car
average temperature about 28°C to 32°C
currency Euro
Inhabitants 1.308.000
language italian
Picturegallery go to the gallery
in combination with -

History

It is presumed Milan was originally founded by the Celts of Northern Italy around 600 BC and was conquered around 222 BC by the Romans, who gave it the name of Mediolanum. In the 4th century, at the time of the bishop Saint Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius I, the city was briefly the capital of the Western Roman Empire. At that time Milan was the second largest city in Europe, with more than 300,000 inhabitants. St Ambrose is now the patron saint of the city. With the Visigoth menace mounting, Milan lost its capital role to Ravenna in 402. Attila plundered the city in 452 during his invasion of Italy, then the Ostrogoths of Uraia ravaged it in 541, during the disastrous Greco-Gothic war. The ghost of a city was then taken by the Lombards in 569; the main Byzantine officials, both civilian and religious, fled to Genoa for safety. The Lombards made Milan capital of one of their main duchies, and the city slowly but surely recovered a role, if overshadowed by neighbouring Pavia and Monza.
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Piazza del Duomo - Milan's central square

Demography

Milan's province (due to be dissolved sooner or later into the Metropolitan City, a new administrative unit not yet implemented) lies in the western part of Lombardy; it covers an area of 1,981 square kilometers and has a population of 3,839,216 (2005); in 1991, the population was 3,738,685. The province comprises 188 communes, ranging in population (2001) from Milan (1,308,311) to Nosate (638); between 1991 to 2001, the city of Milan has lost 113,084 inhabitants (8.3 percent) mostly due to suburban sprawl and expulsion of population from the inner city center, which is now almost fully dedicated to offices and commerce. In November 2006, the official population of Milan Metro Area, in an area of more than 9,000 square kilometers, was certificated for the first time, counting 7.4 million residents.

Climate

Milan has a continental climate, with very little to share with central and southern Italy, which are famous for a comfortable Mediterranean climate. Milan winters are typically damp and chilly, while summers are hot and humid. Average temperatures are -2/+4°C in January and +17/+29°C in July. Snowfalls are common between December and February, average being about 40 cm (15 in) per year. Humidity is quite high during the whole year and yearly rain averages 1000 mm (40 in). In the stereotypical image the city is often shrouded in fog, characteristic of the Po Basin, although the removal of rice fields from the southern neighbourhoods and the reduction of pollution levels have reduced the phenomenon in recent years.
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Inside Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery

Economy

Milan is one of the major financial and business centres of the world. The city is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (la Borsa Italiana)"Piazza Affari" and its hinterland is an avant-garde industrial area. Fiera Milano, the city's Exhibition Center and Trade Fair complex, is notable. This new fairground, in the north-western suburb of Pero and Rho (opened in April 2005), is Europe's largest open construction project, making Fiera Milano the largest trade fair complex in the world. Milan is one of the world capital for fashion and the world leader for design. The town is also one of the richest cities in the European Union. Milan was included in a list of ten "Alpha world cities" by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang of the Brookings Institution in the economic report "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'"

Sports

Football is the most important sport in Italy, and Milan is home to two world-famous football teams: A.C. Milan and Internazionale. The former is normally referred to as "Mělan" (notice the stress on the first syllable, unlike the English and Milanese name of the city), the latter as "Inter". Milan is the only city in Europe whose teams have won both the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. Both teams play at Giuseppe Meazza - San Siro Stadium (85,700). Many of the strongest Italian football players were born in Milan, in the surrounding metropolitan area, or in Lombardy: Valentino Mazzola, Paolo Maldini, Giuseppe Meazza, Giacinto Facchetti, Luigi Riva, Gaetano Scirea, Giuseppe Bergomi, Walter Zenga, Antonio Cabrini, Roberto Donadoni, Gianluca Vialli, Silvio Piola, Giampiero Boniperti, Gabriele Oriali, Giovanni Trapattoni and Franco Baresi as well as many others.
The famous Monza Formula One circuit is located near the city, inside a wide park. It is one of the world's oldest car racing circuits, and one of the most famous. The capacity for the F1 races is currently around 137,000 spectators, although in the 1950s the stands could hold more than 250,000. It has hosted an F1 race nearly every year since the first year of competition, exception made of 1980.
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Brera Museum courtyard

Infrastructure

Airports

The city has a large international airport known as Malpensa International Airport (MXP), located near the industrial towns of Busto Arsizio and Gallarate and connected to the downtown with the "Malpensa Express" railway service (from Cadorna Station). Malpensa was designed by the famous Ettore Sottsass. Milan also has the Linate Airport (LIN) within the city limits (for European and domestic traffic), connected with bus line 73 (from S. Babila). A third airport is Orio al Serio (BGY), close to the city of Bergamo. Vergiate, Venegono, Bresso, Voghera and Montichiari are further airports in the region.

Subways, tramways, and buses

Milan has 3 subway lines (M1 - red, M2 - green, M3 - yellow) and the system, called Milan Metro - "M", running for more than 80 km. There is also a light metro-service, "Metrň S. Raffaele", connecting the San Raffaele Hospital with Cascina Gobba station (M2). Extensions of lines 1, 2 and 3 are under construction, to create more than 15 km of track with 10 new stations. Line 5 is also under construction, to be finished in the first half of 2008. Lines 4 (linking downtown with Linate Airport) and 6 are in planning stages. Greater Milan also has one of the most extensive tramway systems in the world, with more than 286 km of track, and 20 lines. Ninety-three bus lines cover over 1,070 km between them. The local transportation authority (ATM) transported more than 600 million passengers in 2003 .

Railway

Panorama Panorama View: Inside Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery
Milan is the second railway hub of Italy, and the five major stations of Milan are among Italy's busiest. The first rail road built in Milan, the Milan and Monza Rail Road was opened for service on August 17th, 1840. The Suburban Railway Service ( "S" Lines, a service similar to the French RER and German S-Bahn), composed of eight suburban lines and ten more scheduled for 2008, connects the "Greater Milan" to cities such as Como and Varese. The Regional Railway Service ("R"), instead, links Milan with the rest of Lombardy and the national railway system. The "Passante ferroviario" is an underground railway serving a couple of "S" lines and is very much like another subway line (and is even marked as such on subway maps), except that it is connected to LeNord and Trenitalia suburban networks.
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(click on the image)

Culture and Arts

Milan is one of the major artistical centres of northern Italy. An incomplete list of landmarks include:
* The Duomo, the second largest cathedral of the world and the world's largest collection of marble statues.
* The Castello Sforzesco
* The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
* The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Lorenzo
* The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, containing drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture. The city is also the home of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.
* The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, housing one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper.
* The Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Poldi Pezzoli and the Musei del Castello galleries, which host a great number of pictorial masterpieces.
Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala).