Chinatown in Milan is an

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

situated in the 8th quarter of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), and it is an important commercial district. It is the oldest and largest Chinese community in Italy, with about 21,000 people in 2011. The Milanese

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

was originally established in via Canonica in the 1920s by immigrants from Wencheng County, in the

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province, and used to operate small textile and leather workshops. Today the district is filled with hairdressing salons, fashion

boutique A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse". The term ''boutique'' and also ''d ...

s, silk and leather stores, libraries, traveling agencies, medicine centres and massage parlours. The Chinese takeaways and restaurants in the area are mostly specialised in

Zhejiang cuisine Zhejiang cuisine, alternatively known as Zhe cuisine, is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. Zhejiang cuisine contains four different styles, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Wenzhou (also known as Ou cuisine). It derives fro ...

. Several Italian-Chinese companies are also headquartered in the neighborhood, including the editorial desk of the newspaper ''Europe China Daily''.

Via Paolo Sarpi Via Paolo Sarpi is a street in Milan, Italy, known to be the center of the city's Chinese community (Chinatown). It is situated in the 8th district and it is an important commercial avenue. Today, the street is filled with hairdressing salons, fa ...

is the main street and is largely a pedestrian area. Other important locations are Via Bramante, Via

Giovanni Battista Niccolini Giovanni Battista Niccolini (29 October 1782 – 20 September 1861) was an Italian poet and playwright of the Italian unification movement or Risorgimento. Life In 1782, Niccolini was born in Bagni San Giuliano to a family of limited means. He ...

Via Giovanni Battista Niccolini
in Milan, OpenStreetMap, retrieved 23 November 2014 and Via Aleardo Aleardi.

References

Districts of Milan {{Lombardy-geo-stub