50 Facts About Milan

Milan is considered a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research and tourism.

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, and one of the Four Motors for Europe.

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, which was one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance.

Milan received 10 million visitors in 2018, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from China, United States, France and Germany.

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Period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its geographical position.

In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became the first Duke of Milan after receiving the title from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans.

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, 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.

Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco I of the House of Sforza, which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I 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.

On March 18, 1848, Milan efficaciously rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days", that forced Field Marshal Radetzky to temporarily withdraw from the city.

In May 1898 Milan was shaken by the Bava Beccaris massacre, a riot related to soaring cost of living.

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.

However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption.

Milan is located in the north-western section of the Po Valley, approximately halfway between the river Po to the south and the foothills of the Alps with the great lakes to the north, the Ticino river to the west and the Adda to the east.

Milan's climate is similar to much of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot, humid summers and cold, foggy winters.

Municipality of Milan is subdivided into nine administrative Borough Councils, down from the former twenty districts before the 1999 administrative reform.

Milan is the capital of Lombardy, one of the twenty regions of Italy.

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.

Largest parks in the central area of Milan are Sempione Park, at the north-western edge, and Montanelli Gardens, situated northeast of the city.

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.

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, the largest in Italy and fourth largest in the EU, is estimated to have a population of more than 8.

Greater Milan is home to Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities.

Milan has been a Christian-majority city since the late Roman Empire.

The main Romanian Orthodox church in Milan is the Catholic church of Our Lady of Victory, currently granted for use to the local Romanian community.

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Jewish community of Milan is the second largest in Italy after Rome, with about 10, 000 members, mainly Sephardi.

Since the late 1800s, the area of Milan has been a major industrial and manufacturing centre.

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.

Milan 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.

Today, Milan remains a major international hub of modern and contemporary art, with numerous modern art galleries.

Milan is a major national and international centre of the performing arts, most notably opera.

Milan is widely regarded as a global capital in industrial design, fashion and architecture.

Today, Milan is still particularly well known for its high-quality furniture and interior design industry.

Milan is regarded as one of the fashion capitals of the world, along with New York City, Paris, and London.

Milan is home to many architecture, art, and fashion periodicals, including Abitare, Casabella, Domus, Flash Art, Gioia, Grazia, and Vogue Italia.

Several commercial broadcast television networks have their national headquarters in the Milan conurbation, including Mediaset Group, Telelombardia and MTV Italy.

Milan is well known for its world-class restaurants and cafes, characterised by innovative cuisine and design.

In total, Milan has 15 cafes, bars and restaurants registered among the Historical Places of Italy, continuously operating for at least 70 years.

Milan hosted matches at the FIFA World Cup in 1934 and 1990 and the UEFA European Championship in 1980, and more recently held the 2003 World Rowing Championships, the 2009 World Boxing Championships, and some games of the Men's Volleyball World Championship in 2010 and the final games of the Women's Volleyball World Championship in 2014.

Milan is the traditional finish for the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, which, along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana, is one of cycling's three Grand Tours.

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.

University of Milan 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.

University Institute of Languages and Communication 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 relations; later it became a point of reference for business communication; media and advertising; translation and interpreting; communication in culture and arts markets, tourism and fashion.

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 of music established in 1807, currently Italy's largest with more than 1, 700 students and 240 music teachers.

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Milan is one of the key transport nodes of Italy and southern Europe.

Milan Metro is the rapid transit system serving the city and surrounding municipalities.

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, Munich and Vienna (OBB).

Milan has taxi services operated by private companies and licensed by the City council of Milan.

Milan has fifteen official sister cities as reported on the city's website.