The Province of Milan ( it, Provincia di Milano) was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in 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,

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

. Its capital was the city of

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

. The area of the former province is highly urbanized, with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km², the third highest population density among Italian provinces, just below the densities of the provinces of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and of

Monza e Brianza The province of Monza and Brianza ( it, provincia di Monza e della Brianza; lmo, label= Monzese, provincia de Monscia e de la Brianza) is an administrative province of Lombardy region, Italy. Description It was officially created by splittin ...

, the latter of which was created in 2004 from the north-eastern part of the province of Milan. On 1 January 2015 the province was replaced by 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 ...

Geography

The Province of Milan extended over 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 ...

and was bordered by the river

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

to the west, and the river Adda to the east. It was shaped by its waterways - river and canals that traverse it and sometimes border it, from the

Lambro The Lambro ( lmo, Lamber or ''Lambar'' ) is a river of Lombardy, northern Italy, a left tributary of the Po. The Lambro rises from the Monte San Primo, elevation , near the Ghisallo, in the province of Como, not far from Lake Como. After Magr ...

and

Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed ent ...

rivers to the numerous canals, like the Navigli Milanesi; these water runs link farmsteads and villages like Corneliano Bertario, the Castello Borromeo (castle) and ancient noble villas (such as the Inzago Villa near the Naviglio Martesana) to the Canale Villoresi, which is thought to be the longest man-made canal in Italy. The Villoresi is the natural southern border of Brianza, an area in Lombardy noted for its mountains, lakes and plains. It contains six regional natural parks: Parco Adda Nord,

Parco Agricolo Sud Milano Parco Agricolo Sud Milano ("Rural Park South Milan") is a large protected rural area located south and south-east of Milan, Italy. The park was established in 1990 with the purpose of preserving, safeguarding, and enhancing the natural and histor ...

, Parco delle Groane, Parco Nord Milano, Parco della Valle del Lambro and the Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino. Half of the province is agricultural and flood plain, and most of it is protected by reserves.

Geography

Largest municipalities by population

See also

References

External links