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Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in
northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, capital of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, 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 has 3.26 million inhabitants. Its continuously built-up urban area (whose outer suburbs extend well beyond the boundaries of the administrative metropolitan city and even stretch into the nearby country of Switzerland) is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 8.2 million and 12.5 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU.* * * * Milan is considered a leading
alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment,
fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
,
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
,
healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
,
media (communication) In mass communication, media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photograp ...
, services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange ( it, Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the
Four Motors for Europe The Four Motors for Europe is a transnational, interregional network of four highly industrialized and research-oriented regions in Europe. Rhône-Alpes of France, Baden-Württemberg of Germany, Catalonia of Spain and Lombardy of Italy signed an ...
. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire, while from the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities, and a major trade and commercial centre, consequently becoming the capital of the
Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...
, which was one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Despite losing much of its political and cultural importance in the early modern period, the city regained its status as a major economic and political centre, being considered today as the industrial and financial capital of Italy. The city has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals (the others being London,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and Paris) thanks to several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. It hosted the Universal Exposition in
1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
and
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students. Milan received 10 million visitors in 2018, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from China, United States, France and Germany. The tourists are attracted by Milan's museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, including major works by Leonardo da Vinci. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. Milan is also home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the
Winter Olympic The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hel ...
and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with
Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...
.


Toponymy

The etymology of the name ''Milan'' ( Lombard: ''Milan'' ) remains uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name '' Mediolanum'' comes from the Latin words ''medio'' (in the middle) and ''planus'' (plain). However, some scholars believe that ''lanum'' comes from the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
root ''lan'', meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory (source of the
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
word ''
llan Llan may be: * Llan (placename), a Celtic morpheme, or element, common in British placenames ** A short form for any placename . * Llan, Powys, a Welsh village near Llanbrynmair * Llan the Sorcerer La Lunatica Lacuna Lady Bullseye Lady De ...
'', meaning "a sanctuary or church", ultimately cognate to English/
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
'' Land'') in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence ''Mediolanum'' could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe. Indeed, about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France bore the name "Mediolanum", for example: Saintes (''Mediolanum Santonum'') and Évreux (''Mediolanum Aulercorum''). In addition, another theory links the name to the boar sow (the ''
Scrofa semilanuta The ''scrofa semilanuta'' (in English language, Italian: "half-woollen boar") is an ancient emblem of the city of Milan, Italy, dating back at least to the Middle Ages — and, according to a local legend, to the very foundation of Milan. Several a ...
'') an ancient emblem of the city, fancifully accounted for in
Andrea Alciato Andrea Alciato (8 May 149212 January 1550), commonly known as Alciati (Andreas Alciatus), was an Italian jurist and writer. He is regarded as the founder of the French school of legal humanists. Biography Alciati was born in Alzate Brianza, nea ...
's ''Emblemata'' (1584), beneath a woodcut of the first raising of the city walls, where a boar is seen lifted from the excavation, and the etymology of ''Mediolanum'' given as "half-wool", explained in Latin and in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
. According to this theory, the foundation of Milan is credited to two Celtic peoples, the
Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to: * Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges * Bituriges Vivisci The Bituriges Vivisci (Gaulish: ''Biturīges Uiuisci'') were a Gallic tribe dwel ...
and the Aedui, having as their emblems a ram and a boar; therefore "The city's symbol is a wool-bearing boar, an animal of double form, here with sharp bristles, there with sleek wool." Alciato credits
Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
for his account.


History


Prehistory and Roman times

The Celtic Insubres, the inhabitants of the region of northern Italy called Insubria, appear to have founded a settlement around 600 BC. According to the legend reported by Livy (writing between 27 and 9 BC), the Gaulish king Ambicatus sent his nephew Bellovesus into northern Italy at the head of a party drawn from various Gaulish tribes; Bellovesus allegedly founded the settlement in the times of the Roman monarchy, during the reign of
Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military conqu ...
. Tarquin is traditionally recorded as reigning from 616 to 579 BC, according to ancient Roman historian Titus Livy. During the Roman Republic, the Romans, led by consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, fought the Insubres and captured the settlement in 222 BC. The chief of the Insubres then submitted to Rome, giving the Romans control of the settlement. The Romans eventually conquered the entirety of the region, calling the new province "
Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
" ( la , Gallia Cisalpina) – "Gaul this side of the Alps" – and may have given the city its Latinized name of Mediolanum: in Gaulish ''*medio-'' meant "middle, centre" and the name element ''-lanon'' is the Celtic equivalent of Latin ''-planum'' "plain", thus ''*Mediolanon'' (Latinized as ''Mediolānum'') meant "(settlement) in the midst of the plain". In 286, the Roman Emperor
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Rome to Mediolanum. Diocletian himself chose to reside at Nicomedia in the Eastern Empire, leaving his colleague
Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
at Milan. Maximian built several gigantic monuments: the large circus (470 × 85 metres), the '' thermae'' or "Baths of Hercules", a large complex of imperial palaces and other services and buildings of which few visible traces remain. Maximian increased the city area to 375 acres by surrounding it with a new, larger stone wall (about 4.5 km long) with many 24-sided towers. The monumental area had twin towers; the one included later in the construction of the convent of
San Maurizio Maggiore San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is a church in Milan, Northern Italy. It was originally attached to the most important female convent of the Benedictines in the city, Monastero Maggiore, which is now in use as the Civic Archaeological Museum ...
remains 16.6 m high. The
Emperor Constantine Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
issued the Edict of Milan from Mediolanum in 313 AD, granting tolerance to all religions within the Empire, thus paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion of Roman Europe. Constantine was in Mediolanum to celebrate the wedding of his sister to the Eastern Emperor, Licinius. In 402, the Visigoths besieged the city and the
Emperor Honorius Honorius (9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius, Honorius ruled the western half of the empire while ...
moved the Imperial residence to Ravenna. In 452
Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
in his turn besieged Mediolanum, but the real break with the city's Imperial past came in 539, during the
Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...
, when
Uraia Uraias or Uraïas ( grc-gre, Οὐραΐας) was an Ostrogothic general during the Gothic–Roman War of 535–540. Uraias was a nephew of King Witiges. Although probably of humble origins, he rose through the military ranks to become a ''dux'' ...
(a nephew of Witiges, formerly King of the Italian Ostrogoths) laid Mediolanum to waste with great loss of life. The Lombards took Ticinum as their capital in 572 (renaming it ''Papia'' – the modern Pavia), and left early-medieval Milan to the governance of its
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
s.


Middle Ages

After the siege of the city by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence moved to Ravenna. An age of decline began which worsened when
Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 AD. In 539 the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the
Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...
against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569 the Lombards (from whom the name of the Italian region
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine garrison left for its defence. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
s. City-states emerged in northern Italy, an expression of the new political power of the cities and their will to fight against all feudal powers. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the Italian city-states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards through the city until getting out. These brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply, and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender. A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its geographical position. During this time, the city was considered one of the largest European cities. In 1395,
Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...
became the first
Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...
after receiving the title from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans. In 1447
Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447)
, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was established; it took its name from St. Ambrose, the popular patron saint of the city.Henry S. Lucas, ''The Renaissance and the Reformation'' p. 268. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco I of the
House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...
, which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.


Early modern

Milan's last independent ruler,
Lodovico il Moro Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini,
, requested the aid of
Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...
against the other Italian states, eventually unleashing the Italian Wars. The king's cousin, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realized most of Italy was virtually defenseless. This prompted him to come back a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling
Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...
family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor François I over the Swiss at the
Battle of Marignan The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the b ...
, the duchy was promised to the French king François I. When the Spanish Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated François I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525,
northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, including Milan, passed to
Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
. In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother
Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...
. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire. The
Great Plague of Milan Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
in 1629–31, that claimed the lives of an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000, caused unprecedented devastation in the city and was effectively described by Alessandro Manzoni in his masterpiece " The Betrothed". This episode was seen by many as the symbol of Spanish bad rule and decadence and is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
of plague that began with the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
. In 1700, the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated in Ramillies and Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the
Austrian Habsburgs The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The ''Erbland ...
. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Habsburg Spain's Italian possessions including
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
and its capital, Milan.
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned King of Italy in the cathedral. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, to Austrian control in 1815.


Late modern and contemporary

On March 18, 1848, Milan efficaciously rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called " Five Days" ( it, Le Cinque Giornate), that forced Field Marshal
Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...
to temporarily withdraw from the city. The bordering kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia sent troops in order to protect the insurgents and organised a plebiscite that ratified by a huge majority the unification of Lombardy with Piedmont-Sardinia. But just a few months later the Austrians were able to send fresh forces that routed the Piedmontese army at the Battle of Custoza on 24 July and to reassert Austrian control over northern Italy. About ten years later, however, Italian nationalist politicians, officers and intellectuals such as Cavour, Garibaldi and Mazzini were able to gather a huge consensus and to pressure the monarchy to forge an alliance with the new
French Empire French Empire (french: Empire Français, link=no) may refer to: * First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 and by Napoleon II in 1815, the French state from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 * Second French Empire, led by Nap ...
of Napoleon III in order to defeat Austria and establish a large Italian state in the region. At the Battle of Solferino in 1859 French and Italian troops heavily defeated the Austrians that retreated under the Quadrilateral line. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into Piedmont-Sardinia, which then proceeded to annex all the other Italian statlets and proclaim the birth of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861. The political unification of Italy enhanced Milan's economic dominance over northern Italy. A dense rail network, whose construction had started under Austrian patronage, was completed in a brief time, making Milan the rail hub of northern Italy and, with the opening of the Gotthard (1882) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, the major South European rail hub for goods and passenger transport. Indeed, Milan and Venice were among the main stops of the Orient Express that started operating from 1919. Abundant hydroelectric resources allowed the development of a strong steel and textile sector and, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre. Very rapid industrialization in the last two decades of the 1800s led to the birth of a massive worker class as well as bitter social conflicts. In May 1898, Milan was shaken by the
Bava Beccaris massacre The Bava Beccaris massacre, named after the Italian General Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris, was the repression of widespread food riots in Milan, Italy, on 6–10 May 1898. In Italy the suppression of these demonstrations is also known as ''Fatti di Magg ...
, a riot related to soaring cost of living. Milan's northern location in Italy closer to Europe, secured also a leading role for the city on the political scene. It was in Milan that
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
built his political and journalistic careers, and his fascist Blackshirts rallied for the first time in the city's Piazza San Sepolcro; here the future
Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
dictator launched his March on Rome on 28 October 1922. During the Second World War Milan large industrial and transport facilities suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings that often also hit residential districts. When Italy
surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...
in 1943, German forces occupied and plundered most of northern Italy, fueling the birth of a massive resistance guerrilla movement. On April 29, 1945, the American 1st Armored Division was advancing on Milan but, before it arrived, the Italian resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with his mistress and several regime officers, that were later hanged and exposed in Piazzale Loreto, where one year before some resistance members had been executed. During the post-war economic boom, the reconstruction effort and the so-called Italian economic miracle attracted a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of
southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
) to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was rapidly rebuilt, with the construction of several innovative and modernist
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
s, such as the
Torre Velasca The Torre Velasca (''Velasca Tower'', in English) is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the M ...
and the
Pirelli Tower Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...
, that soon became the symbols of this new era of prosperity. The economic prosperity was, however, overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing 17 people and injuring 88. In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani,
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
, Versace,
Moschino Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories. History Founding and 1990s Franco Mosc ...
and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis ''"Milano da bere"'', literally "Milan to be drunk". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile and steel production. Berlusconi's Milano 2 and Milano 3 projects were the most important housing projects of the 1980s and 1990s in Milan and brought to the city new economical and social energy. In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments over huge former industrial areas. Two new business districts, Porta Nuova and CityLife, were built in the space of a decade, radically changing the skyline of the city. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in
Rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
. The long decline in traditional manufacturing has been overshadowed by a great expansion of publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics and tourism. The city's decades-long population decline seems to have partially reverted in recent years, as the it, comune, links=yes, label=none gained about 100,000 new residents since the last census. The successful re-branding of the city as a global capital of innovation has been instrumental in its successful bids for hosting large international events such as
2015 Expo Expo 2015 was a World's fair, World Expo hosted by Milan, Italy. It opened on May 1 at 10:00 Central European Summer Time, CEST and closed on October 31. Milan hosted an exposition for the second time; the first was the 1906 Milan Internation ...
and
2026 Winter Olympics ) , nations = , athletes = , events = 116 in 8 sports , opening = 6 February 2026 , closing = 22 February 2026 , opened_by = , cauldron = , stadium = San Siro Verona Arena , wint ...
.


Geography


Topography

Milan is located in the north-western section of the
Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
, approximately halfway between the river Po to the south and the foothills of the Alps with the great lakes (
Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
, Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano) to the north, the Ticino river to the west and the Adda to the east. The city's land is flat, the highest point being at
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. The administrative it, comune, links=yes, label=none covers an area of about , with a population, in 2013, of 1,324,169 and a population density of . The
Metropolitan City of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan ( it, città metropolitana di Milano; lmo, label=Milanese, cittaa metropolitana de Milan ) is a metropolitan city (not to be confused with the metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region, Italy. It is the second mos ...
covers and in 2015 had a population estimated at 3,196,825, with a resulting density of . A larger urban area, comprising parts of the provinces of Milan, Monza e Brianza, Como, Lecco and Varese is wide and has a population of 5,270,000 with a density of .Demographia: World Urban Areas
. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
The concentric layout of the city centre reflects the ''
Navigli The navigli (; lmo, Navili ) are a system of interconnected canals in and around Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. The system consists of five canals: Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Mart ...
'', an ancient system of navigable and interconnected canals, now mostly covered. The suburbs of the city have expanded mainly to the north, swallowing up many it, comuni, links=no, label=none along the roads towards Varese, Como, Lecco and Bergamo.


Climate

Milan features a mid-latitude, four-season
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa''), according to the Köppen climate classification. Milan's climate is similar to much of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot, humid summers and cold, foggy winters. The Alps and
Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or  – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
form a natural barrier that protects the city from the major circulations coming from northern Europe and the sea. During winter, daily average temperatures can fall below freezing () and accumulations of snow can occur: the historic average of Milan's area is in the period between 1961 and 1990, with a record of in January 1985. In the suburbs the average can reach . The city receives on average seven days of snow per year. The city was often shrouded in thick cloud or fog during winter, although the removal of rice paddies from the southern neighbourhoods and the urban heat island effect have greatly reduced this occurrence since the turn of the 21st century. Occasionally, the
Foehn A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...
winds cause the temperatures to rise unexpectedly: on 22 January 2012 the daily high reached while on 22 February 2012 it reached . Air pollution levels rise significantly in wintertime when cold air clings to the soil, causing Milan to be one of Europe's most polluted cities. Summers in Milan are hot and humidity levels are high with peak temperatures reaching above . Due to the high humidity, urban heat effect and lack of wind, nighttimes often remain muggy during the summer months. Usually the summer enjoys clearer skies with an average of more than 13 hours of daylight: when precipitation occurs though, it is more likely to be accompanied by thunderstorms and
hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
. Springs and autumns are generally pleasant, with temperatures ranging between ; these seasons are characterized by higher rainfall, especially in April and May. Relative humidity typically ranges between 45% (comfortable) and 95% (very humid) throughout the year, rarely dropping below 27% (dry) and reaching as high as 100%. Wind is generally absent: over the course of the year typical wind speeds vary from (calm to gentle breeze), rarely exceeding (fresh breeze), except during summer thunderstorms when winds can blow strong. In the spring, gale-force windstorms may happen, generated either by Tramontane blowing from the Alps or by Bora-like winds from the north. Due to its geographic location surrounded by mountains on 3 sides, Milan is among the least windy cities in Europe.


Administration


Municipal government

The legislative body of the Italian it, comuni, links=no, label=none is the City Council (''Consiglio Comunale''), which in cities with more than one million population is composed by 48 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, at the same time of the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee (''Giunta Comunale''), composed by 12 assessors, that is nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor. The current mayor of Milan is Giuseppe Sala, an independent leading a centre-left alliance led by the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. The municipality of Milan is subdivided into nine administrative Borough Councils (''Consigli di Municipio''), down from the former twenty districts before the 1999 administrative reform. Each Borough Council is governed by a Council (''Consiglio'') and a President, elected contextually to the city Mayor. The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114), the Municipal Statute and several laws, notably the Legislative Decree 267/2000 or Unified Text on Local Administration (''Testo Unico degli Enti Locali''). After the 2016 administrative reform, the Borough Councils have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection, roads, parks, libraries and local commerce; in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding in order to finance local activities.


Metropolitan city

Milan is the capital of the eponymous Metropolitan city. According to the last governmental dispositions concerning administrative reorganisation, the urban area of Milan is one of the 15 Metropolitan municipalities (''città metropolitane''), new administrative bodies fully operative since 1 January 2015. The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas the administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. In this policy framework, the Mayor of Milan is designated to exercise the functions of Metropolitan mayor (''Sindaco metropolitano''), presiding over a Metropolitan Council formed by 24 mayors of municipalities within the Metro municipality. The Metropolitan City of Milan is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor (''Sindaco metropolitano'') and by the Metropolitan Council (''Consiglio metropolitano''). Since 21 June 2016 Giuseppe Sala, as mayor of the capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City.


Regional government

Milan is also the capital of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, one of the twenty regions of Italy. Lombardy is by far the most populated region of Italy, with more than ten million inhabitants, almost one sixth of the national total. It is governed by a Regional Council, composed of 80 members elected for a five-year term. On 26 March 2018, a list of candidates of the
Centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
, a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties, led by Attilio Fontana, largely won the regional election, defeating a coalition of socialists, liberals and ecologists and a third-party candidate from the populist
Five Stars Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
. The conservatives have governed the region almost uninterruptedly since 1970. The regional council has 48 members from the centre-right coalition, 18 from the
Centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...
and 13 from the Five Star Movement. The seat of the regional government is Palazzo Lombardia that, standing at , is the fifth-tallest building in Milan.


Cityscape


Skyline

Two business districts dominate Milan's skyline: ''Porta Nuova'' in the north-east (boroughs n° 9 and 2) and ''CityLife'' (borough n° 8) in the north-west part of the commune. The tallest buildings include the Unicredit Tower at 231 m (though only 162 m without the spire), and the 209 m
Allianz Tower Allianz Tower ( it, links=yes, Torre Allianz), also known as Isozaki Tower ( it, links=yes, Torre Isozaki), is a fifty-floor, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. Designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and Italian architect Andrea Maffei, it serves ...
, a 50-story tower.


Architecture

There are only few remains of the ancient Roman colony, notably the well-preserved Colonne di San Lorenzo. During the second half of the 4th century,
Saint Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
, as bishop of Milan, had a strong influence on the layout of the city, reshaping the centre (although the cathedral and baptistery built in Roman times are now lost) and building the great basilicas at the city gates:
Sant'Ambrogio Sant'Ambrogio may refer to the following entities in Italy: * Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, a church in the Milan * Sant'Ambrogio, Florence, a Roman Catholic church in Florence * Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, a municipality in the Turin * Sant'Ambrogio di ...
,
San Nazaro in Brolo The basilica of San Nazaro in Brolo or San Nazaro Maggiore is a church in Milan, northern Italy. History The church was built by St. Ambrose starting from 382 on the road that connected Milan (then ''Mediolanum'') to Rome. It was originally dedi ...
,
San Simpliciano The Basilica of San Simpliciano is a church in the centre of Milan, Italy northern, the second oldest in the form of a Latin cross, first erected by Saint Ambrose. It is dedicated to Saint Simplician, bishop of Milan. History The site of the pres ...
and
Sant'Eustorgio The Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is a church in Milan in northern Italy, which is in the Basilicas Park city park. It was for many years an important stop for pilgrims on their journey to Rome or to the Holy Land, because it was said to contain the ...
, which still stand, refurbished over the centuries, as some of the finest and most important churches in Milan. Milan's Cathedral, built between 1386 and 1877, is the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and the most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy. The gilt bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, placed in 1774 on the highest pinnacle of the Duomo, soon became one of the most enduring symbols of Milan. In the 15th century, when the Sforza ruled the city, an old Viscontean fortress was enlarged and embellished to become the
Castello Sforzesco The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...
, the seat of an elegant Renaissance court surrounded by a walled hunting park. Notable architects involved in the project included the Florentine Filarete, who was commissioned to build the high central entrance tower, and the military specialist Bartolomeo Gadio. The alliance between Francesco Sforza and Florence's
Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...
bore to Milan Tuscan models of Renaissance architecture, apparent in the Ospedale Maggiore and Bramante's work in the city, which includes
Santa Maria presso San Satiro Santa Maria presso San Satiro ( Saint Mary near Saint Satyrus) is a church in Milan. The Italian Renaissance structure (1476-1482) houses the early medieval shrine to Satyrus, brother of Saint Ambrose. The church is known for its false apse, ...
(a reconstruction of a small 9th-century church), the tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie and three cloisters for Sant'Ambrogio. The
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
in the 16th to 17th centuries was also the period of Spanish domination and was marked by two powerful figures: Saint Charles Borromeo and his cousin, Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Not only did they impose themselves as moral guides to the people of Milan, but they also gave a great impulse to culture, with the creation of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, in a building designed by Francesco Maria Richini, and the nearby
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana A pinacotheca (Latin borrowing from grc, πινακοθήκη, pinakothēkē = grc, πίναξ, pinax, (painted) board, tablet, label=none + grc, θήκη, thēkē, box, chest, label=none) was a picture gallery in either ancient Greece or anc ...
. Many notable churches and Baroque mansions were built in the city during this period by the architects,
Pellegrino Tibaldi Pellegrino Tibaldi (Valsolda, 1527–Milan, 1596), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerism, mannerist architect, sculpture, sculptor, and mural Painting, painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsol ...
, Galeazzo Alessi and Richini himself. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria was responsible for the significant renovations carried out in Milan during the 18th century. This urban and artistic renewal included the establishment of
Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
, inaugurated in 1778, and the renovation of the
Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...
. The late 1700s
Palazzo Belgioioso The Palazzo Belgioioso (also spelled ''Belgiojoso'') is a palatial residence in the northern Italian city of Milan, completed in 1781 in a Neoclassical style by Giuseppe Piermarini. Considered to be one of Milan's architectural treasures, the man ...
by Giuseppe Piermarini and Royal Villa of Milan by
Leopoldo Pollack Leopoldo Pollack (1751 – 13 March 1806) was an Austrian-born Italian architect who was active in Milan where he became one of the leading proponents of Neoclassical architecture. Career In Vienna, Pollack was trained by Paul Ulrich Trientl be ...
, later the official residence of Austrian viceroys, are often regarded among the best examples of Neoclassical architecture in Lombardy. The
Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
rule of the city in 1805–1814, having established Milan as the capital of a satellite Kingdom of Italy, took steps in order to reshape it accordingly to its new status, with the construction of large boulevards, new squares (
Porta Ticinese Porta Ticinese (formerly known as Porta Cicca, and during Napoleonic rule as Porta Marengo)Porta Cicca' (in Italian) is a former city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate, facing south-west, was first created with the Spanish walls of the city, in the 1 ...
by Luigi Cagnola and Foro Bonaparte by
Giovanni Antonio Antolini Giovanni Antonio Antolini (Castel Bolognese, 1756 – Bologna 1841) was an Italian architect and writer. Biography From 1803 to 1815, he was professor of architecture at the University of Bologna and thereafter at Milan's Brera Academy. He design ...
) and cultural institutions (
Art Gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
and the Academy of Fine Arts). The massive
Arch of Peace Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (''quartiere''), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenu ...
, situated at the bottom of Corso Sempione, is often compared to the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
in Paris. In the second half of the 19th century, Milan quickly became the main industrial centre of the new Italian nation, drawing inspiration from the great European capitals that were hubs of the Second Industrial Revolution. The great Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, realised by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877 to celebrate Vittorio Emanuele II, is a covered passage with a glass and cast iron roof, inspired by the Burlington Arcade in London. Several other arcades such as the
Galleria del Corso The Galleria del Corso is a major shopping arcade in the historic center (Zone 1) of Milan, Italy, one of five built in the city in the interwar period (1919–39), along with the Galleria del Toro, Galleria Mazzini, Galleria Meravigli and t ...
, built between 1923 and 1931, complement it. Another late-19th-century eclectic monument in the city is the
Cimitero Monumentale The Cimitero Monumentale ("Monumental Cemetery") is one of the two largest cemeteries in Milan, Italy, the other one being the Cimitero Maggiore. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments. Designed by the architect Carlo Maci ...
graveyard, built in a Neo-Romanesque style between 1863 and 1866. The tumultuous period of early 20th century brought several, radical innovations in Milanese architecture.
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
, also known as '' Liberty'' in Italy, is recognisable in Palazzo Castiglioni, built by architect
Giuseppe Sommaruga Giuseppe Sommaruga (1867–1917) was an Italian architect of the Liberty style or Art nouveau movement. He was the pupil of Camillo Boito and Luca Beltrami to the Brera Academy in Milan. His monumental architecture exerted some influence''Futur ...
between 1901 and 1903. Other examples include Hotel Corso,
Casa Guazzoni Casa Guazzoni is a building at via Malpighi 12 in Milan in the Liberty style, or Italian Art Nouveau. History of the building It was planned by architect Giovanni Battista Bossi (1864–1924) in 1904–1906 on behalf of Cav. Giacomo Guazzoni, w ...
with its wrought iron and staircase, and Berri-Meregalli house, the latter built in a traditional Milanese Art Nouveau style combined with elements of neo-Romanesque and Gothic revival architecture, regarded as one of the last such types of architecture in the city. A new, more eclectic form of architecture can be seen in buildings such as Castello Cova, built the 1910s in a distinctly neo-medieval style, evoking the architectural trends of the past. An important example of Art Deco, which blended such styles with
Fascist architecture Fascist architecture encompasses various stylistic trends in architecture developed by architects of fascist states, primarily in the early 20th century. Fascist architectural styles gained popularity in the late 1920s with the rise of modernism a ...
, is the huge Central railway station inaugurated in 1931. The post–World War II period saw rapid reconstruction and fast economic growth, accompanied by a nearly two-fold increase in population. In the 1950s and 1960s, a strong demand for new residential and commercial areas drove to extreme urban expansion, that has produced some of the major milestones in the city's architectural history, including Gio Ponti's
Pirelli Tower Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...
(1956–60),
Velasca Tower The Torre Velasca (''Velasca Tower'', in English) is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the M ...
(1956–58), and the creation of brand new residential satellite towns, as well as huge amounts of low quality public housings. In recent years, de-industrialization, urban decay and gentrification led to a vast urban renewal of former industrial areas, that have been transformed into modern residential and financial districts, notably Porta Nuova in downtown Milan and FieraMilano in the suburb of
Rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
. In addition, the old exhibition area is being completely reshaped according to the Citylife regeneration project, featuring residencial areas, museums, an urban park and three skyscrapers designed by international architects, and after whom they are named: the
Isozaki Arata Arata Isozaki (磯崎 新, ''Isozaki Arata''; born 23 July 1931) is a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. Biography Isozaki was ...
—when completed, the tallest building in Italy, the twisted Hadid Tower, and the curved Libeskind Tower.


Parks and gardens

The largest parks in the central area of Milan are Sempione Park, at the north-western edge, and Montanelli Gardens, situated northeast of the city. English-style Sempione Park, built in 1890, contains a Napoleonic Arena, the Milan City Aquarium, a steel lattice panoramic tower, an art exhibition centre, a Japanese garden and a public library. The Montanelli gardens, created in the 18th century, hosts the Natural History Museum of Milan and a
planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
. Slightly away from the city centre, heading east, Forlanini Park is characterised by a large pond and a few preserved shacks which remind of the area's agricultural past. In recent years Milan's authorities pledged to develop its green areas: they planned to create twenty new urban parks and extend the already existing ones, and announced plans to plant three million trees by 2030. In addition, even though Milan is located in one of the most urbanised regions of Italy, it is surrounded by a belt of green areas and features numerous gardens even in its very centre. Since 1990, the farmlands and woodlands north (Parco Nord Milano) and south ( Parco Agricolo Sud Milano) of the urban area have been protected as regional parks. West of the city, the Parco delle Cave (Sand pit park) has been established on a neglected site where gravel and sand used to be extracted, featuring artificial lakes and woods.


Demographics

The official estimated population of the City of Milan was 1,378,689 as of 31 December 2018, according to ISTAT, the official Italian statistical agency, up by 136,556 from the 2011 census, or a growth of about 11%. At the same date 3,250,315 people lived in Milan
province-level municipality A direct-administrated municipality (), commonly known as municipality, is the highest level of classification for cities used by the People's Republic of China. These cities have the same rank as provinces and form part of the first tier of ad ...
. The population of Milan today is lower than its historical peak. With rapid industrialization in post-war years, the population of Milan peaked at 1,743,427 in 1973. Thereafter, during the following decades, about one third of the population moved to the outer belt of suburbs and new satellite settlements that grew around the city proper. Milan is home to the second largest Far East Asian community in Europe after Paris, with Philippines and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
making up about a quarter of its foreign population (circa 73.000 of 277.000, in 2021). Another 3,500 foreigners come from other East Asian countries. Today, Milan's conurbation extends well beyond the borders of the city proper and of its special-status provincial authority: its contiguous built-up urban area was home to 5,270,000 people in 2015, while its wider
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
, the largest in Italy and fourth largest in the EU, is estimated to have a population of more than 8.2 million.


Foreign residents

As of 2021, some 276,776 foreign residents lived in the municipality of Milan, representing 20.1% of the total resident population. These figures suggest that the immigrant population has more than doubled in the last 15 years. After World War II, Milan experienced two main waves of immigration: the first, dating from the 1950s to the early 1970s, saw a large influx of migrants from poorer and rural areas within Italy; the second, starting from the late 1980s, has been characterized by the preponderance of foreign-born immigrants. The early period coincided with the so-called Italian economic miracle of postwar years, an era of extraordinary growth based on rapid industrial expansion and great public works, that brought to the city a large influx of over 400,000 people, mainly from rural and underdeveloped
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
. In the last three decades, the foreign born share of the population soared. Immigrants came mainly from Africa (in particular Eritreans,
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
, Moroccans,
Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, and Nigerian), and the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (notably
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
, Romanians, Ukrainians, Macedonians, Moldovans, and Russians), in addition to a growing number of Asians (in particular
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
Sri Lankans This is a demography of the population of Sri Lanka including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Sri Lanka is an island in the ...
and Filipinos) and Latin Americans (Mainly South Americans). At the beginning of the 1990s, Milan already had a population of foreign-born residents of approximately 58,000 (or 4% of the then population), that rose rapidly to over 117,000 by the end of the decade (about 9% of the total). Decades of continuing high immigration have made the city the most cosmopolitan and multicultural in Italy. Milan notably hosts the oldest and largest
Chinese community The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
in Italy, with almost 34,000 people in 2021. Situated in the 9th district, and centred on
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 ...
, an important commercial avenue, the Milanese Chinatown was originally established in the 1920s by immigrants from Wencheng County, in the Zhejiang province, and used to operate small textile and leather workshops. Milan has also a substantial English-speaking community (more than 4,000 American, British, Irish and Australian expatriates), and several English schools and language publications, such as Hello Milano, Where Milano and Easy Milano.


Religion

Milan's population, like that of Italy as a whole, is mostly Catholic. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Milan. Greater Milan is also home to Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish,
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
and Buddhist communities. Milan has been a Christian-majority city since the late Roman Empire. Its religious history was marked by the figure of St. Ambrose, whose heritage includes the
Ambrosian Rite The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese o ...
(Italian: ''Rito ambrosiano''), used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese of Milan, which consider the largest in Europe. The Rite varies slightly from the canonical
Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
, with differences in the mass, liturgical year (
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
starts four days later than in the Roman Rite), baptism, rite of funerals, priest clothes, and sacred music (use of the Ambrosian chant rather than Gregorian). In addition, the city is home to the largest Orthodox community in Italy. Lombardy is the seat of at least 78 Orthodox parishes and monasteries, the vast majority of them located in the area of Milan. The main Romanian Orthodox church in Milan is the Catholic church of Our Lady of Victory (Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria), currently granted for use to the local Romanian community. Similarly, the point of reference for the followers of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Catholic church of San Vito in Pasquirolo. The Jewish community of Milan is the second largest in Italy after Rome, with about 10,000 members, mainly Sephardi. The main city synagogue, Hechal David u-Mordechai Temple, was built by architect
Luca Beltrami Luca Beltrami (November 13, 1854 – August 8, 1933) was an Italian architect and architectural historian, known particularly for restoration projects. Biography Beltrami was born in Milan. He was initially a student at the Politecnico in Mila ...
in 1892. Milan hosts also one of the largest Muslim communities in Italy, and the city saw the construction of the country's first new mosque featuring a dome and minaret, since the destruction of the ancient mosques of
Lucera Lucera ( Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia. Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere Plains, near the foot of Daunian Mountain ...
in the year 1300. In 2014 the City Council agreed on the construction of a new mosque amid bitter political debate, since it is strenuously opposed by right-wing parties such as the
Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...
. Currently, accurate statistics on the Hindu and Sikh presence in Milan metro area are not available; however, various sources estimate that about 40% of the total Indian population living in Italy, or about 50,000 individuals, reside in Lombardy, where a number of Hindu and Sikh temples exist and where they form the largest such communities in Europe after the ones in Britain.


Economy

Whereas Rome is Italy's political capital, Milan is the country's industrial and financial heart. With a 2021 GDP estimated at €207.4 billion, the province of Milan generates approximately 10% of the national GDP; while the economy of the
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
region generates approximately 19.5% of Italy's GDP (or an estimated €400 billion in 2021, roughly the size of Belgium). The province of Milan is home to about 45% of businesses in the Lombardy region and more than 8 percent of all businesses in Italy, including three
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
companies. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Milan was the 11th most expensive city in Europe and the 22nd most expensive city in the world in 2019, while the well-known Via Monte Napoleone is Europe's most expensive shopping street according to Global Blue. Since the late 1800s, the area of Milan has been a major industrial and manufacturing centre. Alfa Romeo automobile company and Falck steel group employed thousands of workers in the city until the closure of their sites in Arese in 2004 and
Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost s ...
in 1995. Other global industrial companies, such as
Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...
,
Prysmian Group Prysmian S.p.A. is an Italian company with headquarters in Milan, specialising in the production of electrical cable for use in the energy and telecom sectors and for optical fibres. Prysmian is present in North America with 23 plants, 48 in Eur ...
,
Riva Group Riva Forni Electrici S.p.A. is a major Italian steel producer. Riva is a privately held company, the whole shareholders' equity being held by the Riva family. History Early history Riva Acciaio was founded in 1954 in Milan by Adriano and Emil ...
, Saras, Saipem and Techint, maintain their headquarters and significant employment in the city and its suburbs. Other relevant industries active in metro Milan include chemicals (e.g.
Mapei Mapei S.p.A. () is an Italian limited company founded in 1937 in Milan that manufactures chemical products for the building industry. History Innovation and research The company was founded and originally called ''Materiali Autarchici per ...
,
Versalis Versalis (''Polimeri Europa'' till 5 April 2012) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian oil supermajor Eni specializing in the production of chemicals. With more than 5,000 employees and a production of about 9.5 million tons of chemical produ ...
, Tamoil Italy), home appliances (e.g.
Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...
), hospitality (
UNA Hotels & Resorts UNA Hotels & Resorts is an Italian hotel chain with four-star hotels and resorts throughout Italy with more than 3000 rooms. The company also owned a country estate composed of 7 Italian luxury villas. In 2016 UNA Hotels was acquired by UNIPOL Gr ...
), food & beverages (e.g. Bertolli, Campari), machinery, medical technologies (e.g.
Amplifon Amplifon SpA is an Italian company, based in Milan, and the world's largest hearing aid retailer. History Amplifon was founded in 1950 in Milan by Algernon Charles Holland, a former official of the British special forces, involved in the Italian ...
, Bracco), plastics and textiles. The construction (e.g.
Webuild Webuild SpA (formerly Salini Impregilo SpA) () is an Italian industrial group specialised in the construction and civil engineering business headquartered in Milan. The company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporat ...
), retail (e.g.
Esselunga Esselunga S.p.A. is an Italian retail store chain. Founded in 1957 by Nelson Rockefeller, Bernardo, Guido and Claudio Caprotti, Marco Brunelli, the Crespi family and other Italian associates, the company is now entirely owned by the Caprotti family ...
, La Rinascente) and utilities (e.g.
A2A A2A S.p.A. is an Italian company, organised as a ''società per azioni'', that generates, distributes, and markets renewable energy, electricity, gas, integrated water supply, and waste management services. The company has significant presence in ...
,
Edison S.p.A. Edison S.p.A. is an Italian electric utility company headquartered in Milan. The company was established in 1884 and acquired by Electricité de France in 2012. Edison employs more than 5,000 people in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Ch ...
,
Snam Snam S.p.A. is an Italian energy infrastructure company. As of 31 December 2019, it had a market capitalization of €15.4 billion. Snam was originally a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni. It has since become an independent company, who ...
, Sorgenia) sectors are also large employers in the Greater Milan. Milan is Italy's largest financial hub. The main national insurance companies and banking groups (for a total of 198 companies) and over forty foreign insurance and banking companies are located in the city, as well as a number of asset management companies, including Anima SGR,
Azimut Holding Azimut Holding is an Italian asset management company, based in Milan, Italy, with branches in Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the Unite ...
,
ARCA SGR Arca Fondi SGR SpA (Italian: ) is an Italian fund management company based in Milan. The company was born from the experience of Arca SGR SpA, founded in October 1983, thanks to the effort of 12 Italian Cooperative Banks and over the years has a ...
, and
Eurizon Capital Eurizon Capital (also known as Eurizon and Eurizon Asset Management) is an asset management firm headquartered in Milan. It is the asset management division of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group. It is considered to be one of the lar ...
. The
Associazione Bancaria Italiana Associazione Bancaria Italiana is the trade association of Italian banks. The association was founded in 1919, few years after the Association of Italian Saving Banks (ACRI, founded 1912), the Association of Italian Rural Credit Unions (''Cassa R ...
representing the Italian banking system, and
Milan Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...
(225 companies listed on the stock exchange) are both located in the city. Porta Nuova, the main
business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
of Milan and one of the most important in Europe, hosts the Italian headquarters of numerous global companies, such as
Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
,
AXA Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services. The Ax ...
, Bank of America,
BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...
, Celgene, China Construction Bank, Finanza & Futuro Banca, FM Global,
Herbalife Herbalife Nutrition Ltd., also called Herbalife International, Inc. (with a U.S. subsidiary called Herbalife International of America) or simply Herbalife, is a global multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary sup ...
,
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
,
KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
,
Maire Tecnimont Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. is an Italian Corporate group, group numbering 50 operating companies in the engineering, technology and energy sectors. It deals in plant engineering in oil and gas, chemicals and petrochemicals, in green chemistry and in t ...
, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Panasonic,
Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
, Samsung, Ubisoft,
Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
, Tata Consultancy Services, Telecom Italia, UniCredit, UnipolSai. Other large multinational service companies, such as
Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...
, Generali,
Alleanza Assicurazioni Alleanza Assicurazioni is an Italian insurance company based in Milan. It was founded in Genoa in 1898 and refounded in Milan in 2013. The company is particularly active in the life insurance sector. Alleanza was controlled with a stake of aroun ...
and PricewaterhouseCoopers, have their headquarters in the CityLife business district, a new development project designed by prominent modernist architects Zaha Hadid, Daniel Liebskind and Arata Isozaki. The city is home to numerous media and advertising agencies, national newspapers and telecommunication companies, including both the public service broadcaster RAI and private television companies like
Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
and Sky Italia. In addition, it hosts the headquarters of the largest Italian publishing companies, such as Feltrinelli, Giunti Editore, , Mondadori,
RCS Media Group RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. (formerly Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera), based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, radio broadcasting, n ...
, and . Milan has also seen a rapid increase in the presence of IT companies, with both domestic and international companies such as Altavista, Google, Italtel, Lycos, Microsoft, Virgilio and Yahoo! establishing their Italian operations in the city. Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world, where the sector can count on 12,000 companies, 800 show rooms, and 6,000 sales outlets; the city hosts the headquarters of global fashion houses such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Luxottica,
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
, Versace, Valentino, Zegna and four weeks a year are dedicated to fashion events. The city is also a global hub for event management and trade fairs. FieraMilano operates the world's fourth largest exhibition hall in
Rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
, were international exhibitions like Milan Furniture Fair,
EICMA EICMA (''Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori''), or the Milan Motorcycle Shows is an annual trade show in Milan, Italy featuring motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-w ...
,
EMO Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
take place on 400,000 square metres of exhibition areas with more than 4 million visitors in 2018. Tourism is an increasingly important part of the city's economy: with 8.81 million registered international arrivals in 2018 (up 9.92% on the previous year), Milan ranked as the world's 15th-most visited city.


Culture


Museums and art galleries

Milan is home to many cultural institutions, museums and art galleries, that account for about a tenth of the national total of visitors and receipts. The Pinacoteca di Brera is one of Milan's most important art galleries. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian painting, including masterpieces such as the '' Brera Madonna'' by Piero della Francesca. The
Castello Sforzesco The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...
hosts numerous art collections and exhibitions, especially statues, ancient arms and furnitures, as well as the
Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco The Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco is an art gallery in the museum complex of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, northern Italy. History Inaugurated in 1878, the gallery displays over 230 artworks, which include masterpieces by Titian, Andrea Ma ...
, with an art collection including
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
's last sculpture, the ''
Rondanini Pietà The ''Rondanini Pietà'' is a marble sculpture that Michelangelo worked on from 1552 until the last days of his life, in 1564. Several sources indicate that there were actually three versions, with this one being the last. The name Rondanini ref ...
'', Andrea Mantegna's ''
Trivulzio Madonna The ''Trivulzio Madonna'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, executed in 1497. It is housed in the Sforza Castle Pinacoteca of the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. The work portrays the Madonna enthroned surrounded by seve ...
'' and Leonardo da Vinci's ''
Codex Trivulzianus The Codex Trivulzianus is a manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci that originally contained 62 sheets, but today only 55 remain. It documents Leonardo's attempts to improve his modest literary education, through long lists of learned words copied from a ...
'' manuscript. The Castello complex also includes
The Museum of Ancient Art The Museo d'Arte Antica ('Museum of Ancient Art') is an art museum in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It has a large collection of sculpture from late antiquity and the medieval and Renaissance periods. The vari ...
, The Furniture Museum, The Museum of Musical Instruments and the
Applied Arts Collection The Applied Arts Collection of Milan (''Raccolte d’Arte Applicata di Milano'' in Italian) is located in the Sforza Castle museum complex under the management of the municipality of Milan, Italy. The museum is divided into several sections with p ...
, The Egyptian and Prehistoric sections of the
Archaeological Museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as Na ...
and the Achille Bertarelli Print Collection (Civica Raccolta delle Stampe Bertarelli). Milan's figurative art flourished in the Middle Ages, and with the
Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...
family being major patrons of the arts, the city became an important centre of Gothic art and architecture (
Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...
being the city's most formidable work of Gothic architecture). Leonardo worked in Milan from 1482 until 1499. He was commissioned to paint the '' Virgin of the Rocks'' for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception and '' The Last Supper'' for the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The city was affected by the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
in the 17th and 18th centuries, and hosted numerous formidable artists, architects and painters of that period, such as
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
and Francesco Hayez, which several important works are hosted in Brera Academy. The Museum of Risorgimento is specialised on the history of
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
Its collections include iconic paintings like
Baldassare Verazzi Baldassare Verazzi (6 January 1819 – 18 January 1886) was an Italian painter. Life Verazzi was born in Caprezzo, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont. He studied at the Academy of Brera at Milan from 1833 to 1842, then under the Venetian Romant ...
's ''Episode from the Five Days'' and Francesco Hayez's 1840 '' Portrait of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria''. The Triennale is a design museum and events venue located in Palazzo dell'Arte, in Sempione Park. It hosts exhibitions and events highlighting contemporary Italian design, urban planning, architecture, music, and media arts, emphasising the relationship between art and industry. Milan in the 20th century was the epicentre of the Futurist artistic movement. Filippo Marinetti, the founder of Italian
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
wrote in his 1909 "'' Manifesto of Futurism''" (in Italian, ''Manifesto Futuristico''), that Milan was "''grande...tradizionale e futurista''" ("''grand...traditional and futuristic''", in English).
Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (, ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...
was also an important
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
artist who worked in the city. Today, Milan remains a major international hub of modern and contemporary art, with numerous modern art galleries. The Modern Art Gallery, situated in the Royal Villa, hosts collections of Italian and European painting from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. The
Museo del Novecento The Museo del Novecento ("museum of the twentieth century") is a museum of twentieth-century art in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arengario, near Piazza del Duomo in the centre of the city. The muse ...
, situated in the
Palazzo dell'Arengario The Palazzo dell'Arengario is a Fascist-era complex of two symmetrical buildings in Piazza del Duomo, the central piazza of Milan, Italy. It was completed in the 1950s and currently houses the Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to 20th-ce ...
, is one of the most important art galleries in Italy about 20th-century art; of particular relevance are the sections dedicated to
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
, Spatialism and Arte povera. In the early 1990s architect
David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, (born 18 December 1953) is an English architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985. His major works include the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (1989–1998); the Museum ...
was invited to convert the premises of the former Ansaldo Factory into a Museum. Museo delle Culture (MUDEC) opened in April 2015. The
Gallerie di Piazza Scala The Gallerie d'Italia - Milano is a modern and contemporary museum in Milan, Italy. Located in Piazza della Scala in the Palazzo Brentani and the Palazzo Anguissola, it hosts 195 artworks from the collections of Fondazione Cariplo with a strong ...
, a modern and contemporary museum located in Piazza della Scala in the Palazzo Brentani and the Palazzo Anguissola, hosts 195 artworks from the collections of Fondazione Cariplo with a strong representation of nineteenth-century Lombard painters and sculptors, including
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
and
Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (, ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...
. A new section was opened in the Palazzo della Banca Commerciale Italiana in 2012. Other private ventures dedicated to contemporary art include the exhibiting spaces of the
Prada Foundation Fondazione Prada, co-chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli since 1995, is an institution dedicated to contemporary art and culture. From 1993 to 2010, the Fondazione has organised 24 solo shows at its exhibition spaces in Milan, conceive ...
and
HangarBicocca Pirelli Hangar Bicocca is a site for contemporary art exhibitions, located in the Bicocca district of Milan, Italy. The building used to be a Pirelli factory. It was converted into 10,900 square metres of exhibition galleries in 2012. Sin ...
. The
Nicola Trussardi Foundation The Nicola Trussardi Foundation is a non-profit institution for the promotion of contemporary art and culture. Created in 1996, the Nicola Trussardi Foundation ran its own exhibiting space in Piazza della Scala in Milan. From autumn 2003, under the ...
is renewed for organising temporary exhibition in venues around the city. Milan is also home to many public art projects, with a variety of works that range from sculptures to murals to pieces by internationally renowned artists, including
Arman Arman (November 17, 1928 – October 22, 2005) was a French-born American artist. Born Armand Fernandez in Nice, France, Arman was a painter who moved from using objects for the ink or paint traces they leave (''cachets'', ''allures d'objet'') to ...
, Kengiro Azuma,
Francesco Barzaghi Francesco Barzaghi (1839–1892) was an Italian sculptor. Born in Milan, he had his initial training in the studios of Antonio Tantardini and a sculptor called Puttinati. He enrolled in the Accademia di Brera. Among his colleagues was Vincenz ...
,
Alberto Burri Alberto Burri (12 March 191513 February 1995; ) was an Italian visual artist, painter, sculptor, and physician based in Città di Castello. He is associated with the matterism of the European informal art movement and described his style as ...
, Pietro Cascella, Maurizio Cattelan, Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgio de Chirico,
Kris Ruhs Kris Ruhs (New York City, March 7, 1952) is an American painter and sculptor. He also works on drawing, graphic arts, jewelry, ceramics and furniture designs. Early life Kris Andrew Ruhs was born in Queens, New York, on March 7, 1952 from a fam ...
,
Emilio Isgrò Emilio Isgrò (born October 1937, in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Sicily) is an Italian artist and writer, known for his use of the erasure technique in his art works. Biography Isgrò was born in Sicily but he moved to Milan when he was 19. He ...
,
Fausto Melotti Fausto Melotti (1901–1986) was an Italian sculptor, ceramicist, poet, and theorist. Life Fausto Melotti was born in the city of Rovereto, a city just east of Lake Garda in northeastern Italy in 1901. He had a sister, Renata Melotti, who was a ...
,
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
, Carlo Mo, Claes Oldenburg, Igor Mitoraj, Gianfranco Pardi, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Carlo Ramous,
Aldo Rossi Aldo Rossi (3 May 1931 – 4 September 1997) was an Italian architect and designer who achieved international recognition in four distinct areas: architectural theory, drawing and design and also product design. He was one of the leading exponen ...
,
Aligi Sassu Aligi Sassu (17 July 1912 – 17 July 2000) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Biography Aligi Sassu was born in Milan, Lombardy. He was the son of Lina Pedretti (from Parma, Emilia) and Antonio Sassu (from Sassari, Sardinia). His father ...
,
Giuseppe Spagnulo Giuseppe Spagnulo (28 December 1936 – 15 June 2016) was an Italian sculptor. Spagnulo was born in Grottaglie, Taranto. At young age he learned to work on the lathe in his father's ceramic workshop. Between 1952 and 1958 he studied at the Faen ...
and
Domenico Trentacoste Domenico Trentacoste (20 September 1859 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Born in Palermo, Sicily; at the age of 12 years, Trentacoste began apprenticing with the sculptor Domenico Costantino. As a young man he travelled ...
.


Music

Milan is a major national and international centre of the performing arts, most notably opera. The city hosts
La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
operahouse, considered one of the world's most prestigious, having throughout history witnessed the premieres of numerous operas, such as '' Nabucco'' by
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
in 1842, ''
La Gioconda La Gioconda ( , ; "the joyful one" feminine_gender.html" ;"title="'feminine gender">f.'' may refer to: * ''Mona Lisa'' or ''La Gioconda'', a painting by Leonardo da Vinci * Lisa del Giocondo, the model depicted in da Vinci's painting * La Gioconda ...
'' by
Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiell ...
, ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'' by Giacomo Puccini in 1904, '' Turandot'' by Puccini in 1926, and more recently ''
Teneke ''Teneke'' is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Fabio Vacchi. Franco Marcoaldi adapted the Italian libretto from the eponymous novel by the Turkish author Yaşar Kemal published in 1955. The opera was premiered on September 22, 2007 ...
'', by
Fabio Vacchi Fabio Vacchi (; born February 19, 1949), is an Italian composer. Biography Training and debut Fabio Vacchi studied at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini of Bologna with Giacomo Manzoni and Tito Gotti. In 1974 he participated in the cou ...
in 2007. Other major theatres in Milan include the
Teatro degli Arcimboldi The ''Teatro degli Arcimboldi'' is a theatre and opera house in Milan. It was built over a 27-month period in anticipation of the closure and subsequent nearly three-year-long renovation of Milan's La Scala opera house in December 2001. It is loc ...
, Teatro Dal Verme, Teatro Lirico and formerly the Teatro Regio Ducale. The city is also the seat of a renowned
symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
and musical conservatory, and has been, throughout history, a major centre for musical composition: numerous famous composers and musicians such as Gioseppe Caimo, Simon Boyleau,
Hoste da Reggio Hoste da Reggio (also L'Hoste, L'Osto, Oste, and Bartolomeo Torresano) (c. 1520–1569) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance music, Renaissance, active in Milan and elsewhere in northern Italy. He was well known for his madrigal (music), ma ...
, Verdi, Giulio Gatti-Casazza,
Paolo Cherici Paolo Cherici is an Italian lutenist. He has given performances all around the world, taking part in ancient music festivals. He studied the guitar under Ruggero Chiesa, later continuing with lute studies at the Schola Cantorum in Basel with Hopk ...
and
Alice Edun Alice Edun, known professionally as Edun, is a Nigerian-Russian singer of dance and gospel music. She lives in Milan, Italy and is signed to eurodance label Off-Limits, and licensed to Robbins Entertainment in the United States. Background Edu ...
lived and worked in Milan. The city is also the birthplace of many modern ensembles and bands, including Camaleonti,
Camerata Mediolanense __NOTOC__ Camerata Mediolanense is an ensemble of musicians established in Milan, Italy in 1994. Their music can be classified as darkwave/ neoclassical, with folk elements. Head of the project is diplomated classical composer Elena Previdi, o ...
,
Gli Spioni Gli Spioni (Italian for "The Telltales") were an Italian beat group of the 1960s. Biography The group was formed in Milan in 1965.Cesare Rizzi (ed.), ''Enciclopedia del Rock italiano'', Milan, Arcana Editrice, 1993, pp.66-67 The original mem ...
,
Dynamis Ensemble The Dynamis Ensemble originated in 1999 in Milan, Italy, from a group of musicians already active within the framework of international concerts, joined by an intense passion for the knowledge and diffusion of contemporary music and 20th-century ...
, Elio e le Storie Tese,
Krisma Krisma, originally known as Chrisma, was an Italian New wave music, new wave/electronic music duo founded by Maurizio Arcieri (1942–2015) and Christina Moser (1952–2022) in 1976. Career 1976–1979 In 1976, Maurizio Arcieri and his wife ...
, Premiata Forneria Marconi,
Quartetto Cetra Quartetto Cetra (; ) was an Italian jazz vocal quartet established during the early 1940s and active until 1988. Career The band was based on the Mills Brothers and started performing under the name Quartetto Egie from the initials of the singers ...
, Stormy Six and
Le Vibrazioni Le Vibrazioni (English: ''The Vibrations'') is an Italian rock and pop band formed in Milan in 1999. They made their breakthrough in 2003 with their debut single ''Dedicato a te'' ("Dedicated to you"), which went platinum in Italy. All their alb ...
.


Fashion and design

Milan is widely regarded as a global capital in industrial design, fashion and architecture. In the 1950s and 60s, as the main industrial centre of Italy and one of Europe's most dynamic cities, Milan became a world capital of design and architecture. There was such a revolutionary change that Milan's fashion exports accounted for 726 million in 1952, and by 1955 that number grew to 72.5 billion. Modern skyscrapers, such as the
Pirelli Tower Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...
and the
Torre Velasca The Torre Velasca (''Velasca Tower'', in English) is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the M ...
were built, and artists such as Bruno Munari,
Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor and theorist. He is mostly known as the founder of Spatialism. Early life Born in Rosario, to Italian immigrant parents, he was t ...
, Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni gathered in the city. Today, Milan is still particularly well known for its high-quality furniture and interior design industry. The city is home to FieraMilano, Europe's largest permanent trade exhibition, and Salone Internazionale del Mobile, one of the most prestigious international furniture and design fairs. Milan is also regarded as one of the fashion capitals of the world, along with New York City, Paris, and London. Milan is synonymous with the Italian prêt-à-porter industry, as many of the most famous Italian fashion brands, such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace,
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, are headquartered in the city. Numerous international fashion labels also operate shops in Milan. Furthermore, the city hosts the Milan Fashion Week twice a year, one of the most important events in the international fashion system. Milan's main upscale fashion district, '' quadrilatero della moda'', is home to the city's most prestigious shopping streets ( Via Monte Napoleone, Via della Spiga,
Via Sant'Andrea Via Sant'Andrea is a luxury shopping street in Milan, Italy, forming part of the ''quadrilatero della moda'', along with Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Manzoni and Corso Venezia. Shops *Alba Eloisa d'Alessandro *Antonio Fusco *Ballant ...
,
Via Manzoni Via Manzoni, is a busy and fashionable street in the Italian city of Milan which leads from the Piazza della Scala north-west towards Piazza Cavour. Notable buildings include the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the elegant Grand Hotel et de Milan, which was ...
and Corso Venezia), in addition to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the world's oldest shopping malls.


Languages and literature

In the late 18th century, and throughout the 19th, Milan was an important centre for intellectual discussion and literary creativity. The
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
found here a fertile ground.
Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria, Marquis of Gualdrasco and Villareggio (; 15 March 173828 November 1794) was an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, economist and politician, who is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Age of ...
, with his famous ''
Dei delitti e delle pene ''On Crimes and Punishments'' ( it, Dei delitti e delle pene ) is a treatise written by Cesare Beccaria in 1764. The treatise condemned torture and the death penalty and was a founding work in the field of penology. History Beccaria and th ...
'', and Count
Pietro Verri Count Pietro Verri (12 December 1728 – 28 June 1797) was an economist, historian, philosopher and writer. Among the most important personalities of the 18th-century Italian culture, he is considered among the fathers of the Lombard reformist E ...
, with the periodical ''Il Caffè'' were able to exert a considerable influence over the new
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
culture, thanks also to an open-minded Austrian administration. In the first years of the 19th century, the ideals of the Romantic movement made their impact on the cultural life of the city and its major writers debated the primacy of Classical versus Romantic poetry. Additionally, Giuseppe Parini and Ugo Foscolo published their most important works, and were admired by younger poets as masters of ethics, as well as of literary craftsmanship. Foscolo's poem ''
Dei sepolcri "Dei Sepolcri" ("Sepulchres") is a poem written by the Italian poet, Ugo Foscolo, in 1806, and published in 1807. It consists of 295 hendecasyllabic verses. The '' carme'' (as the author defined it) is dedicated to another poet, Ippolito Pindemon ...
'' was inspired by a Napoleonic law that—against the will of many of its inhabitants—was being extended to the city. In the third decade of the 19th century, Alessandro Manzoni wrote his novel ''
I Promessi Sposi ''The Betrothed'' ( it, I promessi sposi ) is an Italian Historical romance, historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827 in literature, 1827, in three Volume (bibliography), volumes, and significantly revised and rewritten un ...
'', considered the manifesto of Italian Romanticism, which found in Milan its centre; in the same period Carlo Porta, reputed the most renowned local vernacular poet, wrote his poems in Lombard Language. The periodical ''
Il Conciliatore ''Il Conciliatore'' was a progressive bi-weekly scientific and literary journal, influential in the early Risorgimento. The journal was published in Milan from September 1818 until October 1819 when it was closed by the Austrian censors. Its writer ...
'' published articles by Silvio Pellico,
Giovanni Berchet Giovanni Berchet (23 December 1783 – 23 December 1851) was an Italian poet and patriot. He wrote an influential manifesto on Italian Romanticism, ''Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo'', which appeared in 1816, and contributed to ''Il Conciliatore ...
,
Ludovico di Breme Ludovico di Breme (Turin, 1780 – Turin, 15 August 1820), whose complete name was Ludovico Arborio Gattinara dei Marchesi di Breme, was an Italian writer and thinker, as well as a contributor to Milan's principal romantic journal, ''Il Conciliatore ...
, who were both Romantic in poetry and patriotic in politics. After the Unification of Italy in 1861, Milan retained a sort of central position in cultural debates. New ideas and movements from other countries of Europe were accepted and discussed: thus
Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
and Naturalism gave birth to prewar Italian movement of '' Verismo'' in Southern Italy, its greatest ''Verista'' novelist
Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
formed in Sicily who wrote his most important books in Milan. In addition to Italian, approximately 2 million people in Northern Italy can speak the Milanese dialect or other Western Lombard variation.


Media

Milan is an important national and international media centre. ''
Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
'', founded in 1876, is one of the oldest Italian newspapers, and it is published by
Rizzoli Rizzoli is an Italian surname. People *Achilles Rizzoli (1896–1981), an American artist *Angelo Rizzoli (1889–1970), an Italian publisher ** RCS MediaGroup, formerly "A. Rizzoli & C." and "Rizzoli Editore", a publishing company founded by Angel ...
, as well as ''
La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...
'', a daily dedicated to coverage of various sports and currently considered the most widely read daily newspaper in Italy. Other local dailies are the general broadsheets '' Il Giorno'', '' Il Giornale'', the Catholic newspaper '' Avvenire'', and ''
Il Sole 24 Ore ''Il Sole 24 Ore'' () is an Italian national daily business newspaper owned by Confindustria, the Italian employers' federation. History and profile ''Il Sole 24 Ore'' was first published on 9 November 1965 as a merger between ''Il Sole'' ("the ...
'', a daily business newspaper owned by Confindustria (the Italian employers' federation). Free daily newspapers include '' Leggo'' and ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
''. Milan is also home to many architecture, art, and fashion periodicals, including ''
Abitare ''Abitare'', published monthly in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's best known design magazines. It was first published in 1961. History and profile ''Abitare'' was launched in Milan in 1961 by Piera Peroni. The magazine was published monthly. ...
'', '' Casabella'', ''
Domus In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...
'', '' Flash Art'', '' Gioia'', ''
Grazia ''Grazia'' (; Italian for ''Grace'') is a weekly women's magazine that originated in Italy with international editions printed in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Colombia, France, Germany. Greece, Indonesia, I ...
'', and '' Vogue Italia''. ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' and '' Oggi'', two of Italy's most important weekly news magazines, are also published in Milan. Several commercial broadcast television networks have their national headquarters in the Milan conurbation, including
Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
Group (owner of
Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...
, Italia 1, Iris and
Rete 4 Rete 4 (in English Network 4) is an Italian free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset Italia and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. Presently the director is Sebastiano Lombardi. Programs TV Programmes (currently) Rete 4's strength ...
),
Telelombardia Telelombardia is a Milan-based Italian local television network that offer entertainment programs, news and weather bulletins, sports and political debates, variety shows and paid programming. See also * Qui studio a voi stadio ''Qui studio ...
and
MTV Italy MTV is an Italian pay television network, owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA and operated by Sky Italia. History Prior to the launch of a 24-hour Italian speaking MTV, MTV viewers in Italy received the pan-European version of MTV. Regionalization ...
. National radio stations based in Milan include Radio Deejay,
Radio 105 Network Radio 105 is an Italian private radio station, owned by Mediaset, who also owns Virgin Radio Italia and Radio Monte Carlo. It was founded on 1976 as ''Radio Studio 105''. External links Radio 105 Network Official Website Radio 105 Networkon Y ...
,
R101 (Italy) R101 (formerly Radio Milano International, 101 Network, Radio 101, One-O-One, and Radio 101, current name since June 6, 2005) is an Italian language, Italian Radio broadcasting, radio station that broadcasts adult contemporary music and news bull ...
,
Radio Popolare Radio Popolare (or RP) is an independent radio station based in Milan, 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 Mediterra ...
,
RTL 102.5 RTL 102.5 is a private Italian radio station. Despite its name, this radio station is not endorsed or affiliated with RTL Group (it is owned by Lorenzo Suraci, and RTL is an acronym of (''Lombardy Radio Broadcasting''), the original name of this ...
,
Radio Capital Radio Capital is an Italian private radio station, was founded in May 1977 and is owned by the Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (ultimately by EXOR owned by the Agnelli-family) and began broadcasting in 1985. Broadcast FTA on Hot Bird, on SKY Ital ...
and
Virgin Radio Italia Virgin Radio is a music-based Italian radio station, which started nationwide broadcasting on 12 July 2007 at 12:00 AM (with the song ''What a Wonderful World'' by Joey Ramone). It is owned by Mediaset and the programming consists of rock mus ...
.


Cuisine

Like most cities in Italy, Milan has developed its own local culinary tradition, which, as it is typical for North Italian cuisines, uses more frequently rice than pasta, butter than vegetable oil and features almost no tomato or fish. Milanese traditional dishes includes '' cotoletta alla milanese'', a breaded veal (pork and turkey can be used) cutlet pan-fried in butter (similar to Viennese Wiener Schnitzel). Other typical dishes are '' cassoeula'' (stewed pork rib chops and sausage with
Savoy cabbage Savoy cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''sabauda'' L. or ''Brassica oleracea'' Savoy Cabbage Group) is a variety of the plant species ''Brassica oleracea''. Savoy cabbage is a winter vegetable and one of several cabbage varieties. It is named ...
), '' ossobuco'' (braised
veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...
shank served with a condiment called '' gremolata''), ''
risotto alla milanese Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Par ...
'' (with saffron and beef marrow), ''busecca'' (stewed tripe with beans), ''
mondeghili Mondeghili (singular: ''mondeghilo''; also known as mondeghini) are meatballs typical of Milanese cuisine in the Italian region of Lombardy. The main ingredient of the dish is leftover meat, usually beef because of its popularity in Milan: the d ...
'' (
meatballs A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...
made with leftover meat fried in butter), and ''brasato'' (stewed beef or pork with wine and potatoes). Season-related pastries include ''chiacchiere'' (flat fritters dusted with sugar) and ''tortelli'' (fried spherical cookies) for
Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
, ''colomba'' (glazed cake shaped as a dove) for Easter, ''pane dei morti'' ("bread of the (Day of the) Dead", cookies flavoured with
cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
) for All Souls' Day and panettone for Christmas. The ''salame Milano'', a salami with a very fine grain, is widespread throughout Italy. Renowned Milanese cheeses are gorgonzola (from the
namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...
village nearby), mascarpone, used in pastry-making, taleggio and quartirolo. Milan is well known for its world-class restaurants and cafés, characterised by innovative cuisine and design. , Milan has 157 Michelin-selected places, including three 2-Michelin-starred restaurants; these include Cracco, Sadler and il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia. Many historical restaurants and bars are found in the historic centre, the Brera and
Navigli The navigli (; lmo, Navili ) are a system of interconnected canals in and around Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. The system consists of five canals: Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Mart ...
districts. One of the city's oldest surviving cafés,
Caffè Cova Italians are well known for their special attention to the preparation, the selection of the blends, and the use of accessories when creating many types of coffees. Many of the types of coffee preparation known today also have their roots here ...
, was established in 1817. In total, Milan has 15 cafés, bars and restaurants registered among the Historical Places of Italy, continuously operating for at least 70 years.


Sport

Milan hosted matches at the FIFA World Cup in
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
and
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
and the UEFA European Championship in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
, and more recently held the
2003 World Rowing Championships The 2003 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 25 August to 1 September 2003 on the lake Idroscalo at Milan, Italy. The international rowing season usually ends with the World Championship regatta. Apart f ...
, the 2009 World Boxing Championships, and some games of the Men's Volleyball World Championship in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and the final games of the
Women's Volleyball World Championship The FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The initial gap between championships was varia ...
in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. In 2018, Milan hosted the World Figure Skating Championships. Milan will host the
2026 Winter Olympics ) , nations = , athletes = , events = 116 in 8 sports , opening = 6 February 2026 , closing = 22 February 2026 , opened_by = , cauldron = , stadium = San Siro Verona Arena , wint ...
as well as the
2026 Winter Paralympics The 2026 Winter Paralympics ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2026), officially known as the XIV Paralympic Winter Games, and commonly known as Milano-Cortina 2026, is an international winter multi-sport event for disabled athletes that is ...
jointly with
Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...
. Milan is the only city in Europe that is home to two European Cup/Champions League winning teams: Serie A football clubs A.C. Milan and Inter. They are two of the most successful clubs in the world of football in terms of international trophies. Both teams have also won the
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
(formerly the Intercontinental Cup). With a combined ten Champions League titles, Milan is only second to Madrid as the city with the most European Cups. Both teams play at the UEFA 5-star-rated Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, more commonly known as the San Siro, that is one of the biggest stadiums in Europe, with a seating capacity of over 80,000. The Meazza Stadium has hosted four European Cup/Champions League finals, most recently in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, when
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
defeated
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
5–3 in a penalty shoot-out. A third team,
Brera Calcio F.C.D. Brera is an Italian football club in Milan, Lombardy, which plays in Seconda Categoria. Colours Its colours are green and black. History Brera Football Club was founded in 2000 by the young publisher and journalist Alessandro Aleo ...
, plays in Prima Categoria, the seventh tier of Italian football. Another team, Milano City F.C. (a successor of Bustese Calcio), plays in Serie D, the fourth level. Milan is one of the host cities of the EuroBasket 2022. There are currently four professional Lega Basket clubs in Milan: Olimpia Milano, Pallacanestro Milano 1958, Società Canottieri Milano and A.S.S.I. Milano. Olimpia is the most decorated basketball club in Italy, having won 27
Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...
championships, six Italian National Cups, one Italian Super Cup, three European Champions Cups, one FIBA Intercontinental Cup, three FIBA Saporta Cups, two FIBA Korać Cups and many junior titles. The team play at the Mediolanum Forum, with a capacity of 12,700, where it has been hosted the final of the
2013–14 Euroleague The 2013–14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 14th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the fourth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...
. In some cases the team also plays at the
PalaDesio The PalaDesio (full name: Palazzetto dello Sport di Desio, known for sponsorship reasons as PalaFitlineDesio) is an arena located in Desio, Lombardy, Italy. Opened in 1992, the arena – with a capacity of 6,700 or 8,000 depending on the layout ...
, with a capacity of 6,700. Milan is also home to Italy's oldest American football team:
Rhinos Milano The Rhinos Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy. The team was founded in 1976 (first team in Italy) and won the Italian championship in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990 and 2016. The Rhinos play in the Italian Football League (form ...
, who have won five Italian Super Bowls. The team plays at the
Velodromo Vigorelli Velodromo Vigorelli (from 2001 officially Velodromo Maspes-Vigorelli) is a semi-covered velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostly for American football events, in fact, surrounded by the track, there is a standard size football f ...
, with a capacity of 8,000. Another American football team that use the same venue is the Seamen Milano, who will join the professional European League of Football in 2023. Milan has also two cricket teams: Milano Fiori, currently competing in the second division, and Kingsgrove Milan, who won the Serie A championship in 2014.
Amatori Rugby Milano Amatori Rugby Milano were an Italian rugby union team based in Milan founded in 1927 and disbanded in 2011. Founded in 1927 as part of the football team Ambrosiana-Inter of Milan, the club won the first ever Italian championship in 1929 and e ...
, the most decorated rugby team in Italy, was founded in Milan in 1927. The
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
Formula One circuit is located near the city, inside a suburban park. It is one of the world's oldest car racing circuits. The capacity for the F1 races is currently over 113,000. It has hosted an F1 race nearly every year since the first year of competition, with the exception of 1980. In
road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...
, Milan hosts the start of the annual
Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...
classic one-day race and the annual Milano–Torino one day race. Milan is also the traditional finish for the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, which, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, is one of cycling's three Grand Tours.


Education

Milan is a major global centre of higher education teaching and research and has the second largest concentration of higher education institutes in Italy after Rome. Milan's higher education system includes 7 universities, 48 faculties and 142 departments, with 185,000 university students enrolled in 2011 (approximately 11 percent of the national total) and the largest number of university graduates and postgraduate students (34,000 and more than 5,000, respectively) in Italy.


Universities

The University of Milan (also known as the "State University") founded in 1923, is the largest public teaching and research university in the city. The University of Milan is the sixth-largest university in Italy, with approximately 60,000 enrolled students and a teaching staff of 2,500. Most relevant academics are in the fields of medicine, law and politics, and
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
. Notable alumni such as former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and
Nobel Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel Nobel may also refer to: Companies *AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994 *Branobel, or ...
laureates earned their degree at University of Milan. University of Milano-Bicocca, established in 1998 is the city's newest institution of higher education in science and technology. Built over a once industrial area, today enrolls more than 30,000 students, of which more than 60% are females. As its older parent institute, it is one of the most sought-after location for medical students. The Polytechnic University of Milan is the city's oldest university, founded in 1863. With over 40,000 students, it is the largest
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
university in Italy.
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...
is the largest private teaching university in Europe and the largest
Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...
in the world with 42,000 enrolled students. Bocconi University is a private management and finance university established in 1902, ranking as the best university in Italy in its fields, and as one of the best in the world. In 2020, QS World University Rankings (viewed as one of the three most-widely read university rankings in the world) ranked the university 7th worldwide and 3rd in Europe in
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
and management studies, as well as 1st in economics and econometrics outside the U.S. and the U.K. The Financial Times ranked it the sixth best
business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...
in Europe in 2018. Bocconi University also ranks as the 5th best 1 year MBA course in the world, according to the Forbes 2017 ranking. Vita-Salute San Raffaele University is a private teaching medical university linked to the San Raffaele Hospital. University Institute of Languages and Communication (also known as "University IULM") is a private teaching university established in 1968, later renamed from its original name "University Institute of Languages of Milan", becoming first Italian university offering courses on
public relation Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
s; later it became a point of reference also for business communication; media and advertising; translation and
interpreting Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous inter ...
; communication in culture and arts markets, tourism and
fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
.


Art academies

Milan is also well known for its fine arts and music schools. The Milan Academy of Fine Arts (Brera Academy) is a public academic institution founded in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria; the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano, New Academy of Fine Arts is the largest private art and design university in Italy; the Istituto Europeo di Design, European Institute of Design is a private university specialised in fashion, industrial and interior design, audio/visual design including photography, advertising and marketing and business communication; the Istituto Marangoni, Marangoni Institute, is a fashion institute with campuses in Milan, London, and Paris; the Domus Academy is a private postgraduate institution of design, fashion, architecture, interior design and management; the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music, a college or university school of music, college of music founded in 1931 by the blessed cardinal A.I. Schuster, archbishop of Milan, and raised according to the rules by the Holy See in 1940, is—similarly to the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome, which is consociated with—an Institute "ad instar facultatis" and is authorised to confer university qualifications with canonical validity and the Milan Conservatory, a college or university school of music, college of music established in 1807, currently Italy's largest with more than 1,700 students and 240 music teachers.


Transport

Milan is one of the key transport nodes of Italy and southern Europe. Its Milano Centrale railway station, central railway station is Italy's second and Europe's eighth busiest. The Milan Malpensa Airport, Malpensa, Linate Airport, Linate and Orio al Serio International Airport, Orio al Serio airports serve the Milan metropolitan area, Greater Milan, the largest metropolitan area in Italy. Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM) is the Milanese municipal transport company; it operates 5 Rapid transit, metro lines, 18 tram lines, 131 bus lines, 4 trolleybus lines, and 1 people mover line, carrying about 776 million passengers in 2018. Overall the network covers nearly reaching 46 Comune, municipalities. Besides public transport, ATM manages the interchange parking lots and other transport services including BikeMi, bike sharing and carsharing systems.


Rail


Underground

The Milan Metro is the rapid transit system serving the city and surrounding municipalities. The network consists of 4 lines (plus Milan Metro Line 4, one under construction), with a total network length of , and a total of List of Milan Metro stations, 113 stations, mostly underground. It has a daily ridership of 1.15 million, the largest in Italy as well as one of the largest in Europe.


Suburban

The Milan suburban railway service, operated by Trenord, comprises 12 S-train, S lines connecting the metropolitan area with the city centre, with possible transfers to all the metro lines. Most S lines run through the Milan Passerby Railway, Milan Passerby railway, commonly referred to as "il Passante" and served by double-decker trains every 4/8 minutes in the central underground section.


National and international trains

Milano Centrale railway station, Milan Central station, with 120 million passengers per year, is the largest and List of busiest railway stations in Europe, eighth busiest railway station in Europe and the second busiest in Italy after Roma Termini, Rome. Milano Cadorna railway station, Milano Cadorna and Milano Porta Garibaldi railway station, Milano Porta Garibaldi stations are respectively the seventh and the eleventh busiest stations in Italy. Since the end of 2009, two High-speed rail, high-speed train lines link Milan to Rome, Naples and Turin–Milan high-speed railway, Turin, considerably shortening travel times with other major cities in Italy. Further high-speed lines are under construction towards Genoa and Verona. Milan is served by direct international trains to Nice, Marseille, Lyon, Paris, Lugano, Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich and Frankfurt, and by overnight sleeper services to Paris and Dijon (Thello), Munich and Vienna (ÖBB). Milan is also the core of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
's regional train network. Regional trains were operated on two different systems by LeNord (departing from Milano Cadorna) and Trenitalia (departing from Milan Centrale and Milano Porta Garibaldi). Since 2011, a new company, Trenord, operates both Trenitalia and LeNord regional trains in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, carrying over 750,000 passengers on more than 50 routes every day.


Buses and trams

The Trams in Milan, city tram network consists of approximately of track and 18 lines, and is Europe's most advanced light rail system. Bus lines cover over . Milan has also taxicab, taxi services operated by private companies and licensed by the City council of Milan. The city is also a key node for the national road network, being served by all the major highways of Northern Italy. Numerous long-distance bus lines link Milan with many other cities and towns in Lombardy and throughout Italy.


Aviation

The Milan metropolitan area is served by three international airports, with a grand total of about List of the busiest airports in Europe, 47 million passengers served in 2018. * Malpensa, Malpensa Airport is Italy's second-busiest airport with 24.7 million passengers served in 2018 and Italy's busiest for freight and cargo, handling about 600,000 tons of international freight in 2018. Malpensa lays from downtown Milan and is connected to the city by the Malpensa Express railway service. * Linate Airport is Milan's city airport, less than 8 km (5 miles) from central Milan, and is mainly used for domestic and short-haul international flights. It served 9.2 million passengers in 2018. Linate Airport was the second largest base for Italy's national flag carrier, Alitalia. * Orio al Serio Airport, located some away, near the town of Bergamo, mainly serves the low-cost traffic of Milan and it is the main base of Ryanair (12.9 million passengers served in 2018). Lastly, Bresso Airfield is a general aviation airport, operated by Aero Club Milano.


Cycling

The bicycle is becoming an increasingly important mode of transportation in Milan. Since 2008, the implementation of a city-wide network of bike paths has been initiated, to fight congestion and air pollution. During the COVID pandemic in 2019, 35 km of bike lanes have been realized on short notice, to relieve pressure on the subway occupation. The bike sharing systems BikeMi has been deployed in almost all the city and enjoys increasing popularity. Stationless commercial bike and scooter sharing systems are widely available.


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Milan is Sister city, twinned with: * São Paulo, Brazil, since 1961 * Chicago, United States, since 1962 * Lyon, France, since 1967 * Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 1967 * Frankfurt, Germany, since 1969 * Birmingham, United Kingdom, since 1974 * Dakar, Senegal, since 1974 * Shanghai, China, since 1979 * Osaka, Japan, since 1981 * Tel Aviv, Israel, since 1997 * Bethlehem, Palestine, since 2000 * Toronto, Canada, since 2003 * Kraków, Poland, since 2003 * City of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, since 2004 * Daegu, South Korea, since 2015 The partnership with Saint Petersburg was suspended in 2012 (a decision taken by the city of Milan), because of the prohibition of the Russian government on "homosexual propaganda". However, it was later restored and as of 2022, St. Petersburg is still listed on Milan's official list of twin towns.


Other relations

Milan has the following collaborations: *Algiers, Algeria *Amsterdam, Netherlands *Astana, Kazakhstan *Bilbao, Spain *Chengdu, China *Copenhagen, Denmark *Guangzhou, China *Dubai, United Arab Emirates *Moscow, Russia *New York City, United States *Saitama Prefecture, Japan *Tegucigalpa, Honduras *Tehran, Iran


People


Honorary citizens

People awarded the honorary citizenship of Milan are:


See also

* List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits * Outline of Italy * Outline of Milan * Biscione


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Authority control Milan, Cities and towns in Lombardy, * Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Milan, * 1st-millennium BC establishments in Italy Former capitals of Italy Populated places established in the 6th century BC