Milan Still the best Destination in italy.
Milan, Italian Milano,
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II [Credit: Stephen Studd—Stone/Getty Images]city, capital of Milano province (provincia) and of the region (regione) of Lombardy (Lombardia), northern Italy. It is the leading financial centre and the most prosperous manufacturing and commercial city of Italy.
The destiny of Milan, like that of many of the world’s great cities, remains something of a historical paradox. There are powerful factors supporting the argument that Milan should have become the capital of a unified Italy, and this is the belief of many Milanese, in spite of the fact that the unity of Italy was actually born in Turin, rather than in Milan, in 1870. Milan, nevertheless, is the most industrious and vital city to have achieved prominence since the ancient land of Italy became aware of itself as a modern nation-state. Area city, 70 square miles (182 square km); province, 765 square miles (1,980 square km). Pop. (2001) city, 1,256,211; province, 3,707,210; (2007 est.) city, 1,303,437; province, 3,884,481.
The fact that Milan is at a distance from much of the rest of Italy, that it is peripheral in a geographic sense, does not explain its position of “second city,” a position it has always vainly fought. Indeed, some of the greatest European capitals are peripheral in this sense. Rather, Milan’s role was the consequence of the immense historical importance and the enormous accumulation of myths and symbols that conferred on Milan’s antagonist, Rome, an inevitable prestige. During the Risorgimento, the 19th-century movement for Italian unification, Rome became the heart of a future anticipated in the collective fantasies of the Italian people.
Yet although Rome remains the political capital of Italy, Milan has long been known as its “moral capital.” When the Milanese assert that their city is the moral capital, they not only express the ancient regionalism typical of all Italy and known as campanilismo (a reference to the church bell of each city), but they also refer to the city’s quality and values, historical as well as contemporary. And if the rest of Italy, Rome included, accepts this statement—or rather accepts the fact that the statement is made—it is because it is more than a simple claim. The claim is justified by contributions in every field—economic, cultural, and ideological—that the city of Milan, in modern times, and particularly since the unification of Italy, has made to the Italian state.
It was partly out of an opposition to the nature of Rome as a capital of government, and thereby the perceived capital of taxation, state spending, and political skullduggery, that Milan’s self-image as Italy’s moral capital was born. This notion was cemented in the late 19th century as an industrializing Milan set itself up as a capital of innovation, production, and efficiency—values the Milanese considered absent in Rome. The city’s sense of moral superiority—particularly the idea that the Milanese people were morally superior because of their positive work ethic—was reinforced as Milan ultimately became Italy’s centre of industry and finance, as well as the motor behind the country’s extraordinary economic development in the 20th century. Today Milan is the richest city in Italy and one of the richest in Europe.
Even though many intellectuals, writers, and artists have abandoned the city for Rome, Milan has succeeded in keeping alive an inquisitiveness and a spirit of polemic that involves not only itself and Rome but all other cities in Italy as well. The increased importance of the mass media in Italy, particularly of the Milan-based television networks, also has favoured the Milanese perspective—though this development has not damaged the poetic image of Rome nor reduced the prosaic character of Milan. Nevertheless, when one remembers that in the 19th century a writer such as Stendhal, one of the giants of French culture, wished to proclaim himself “Milanese” in his epitaph, one must indeed believe in the fascination Milan exerted then, and still does, and of which the city is fully conscious.
Milan is set in the heart of the Po Basin of northern Italy, halfway across the immense plain spreading between the Ticino and Adda rivers. The site is 400 feet (122 metres) above sea level. To the north lies the great sweep of the southern flank of the Alps. Between this semicircle of mountains and the course traced by the Po River to the south, there lies a zone that is arid toward the north but swampy near the Po, where it turns into an expanse of marshy groves and rice fields. It is at the line of demarcation between these two areas, which are strongly differentiated, that Milan has risen, although now only swamplands mark the site of the ancient city. The earliest inhabitants reinforced their defenses by means of the small watercourses of the Sèveso, the Nirone, the Lambro, and the Olona.
Milan’s climate is continental, with damp, chilly winters and hot, humid summers. Snow falls between December and February, and springtime is generally rainy. In winter temperatures range between 30 and 50 °F (−1 and 10 °C) and in summer between 68 and 86 °F (20 and 30 °C). Characteristic of the Po Basin, fog often shrouds the city in winter. The removal of rice fields from the southern neighbourhoods and the closure of most of the city’s heavy industry have reduced the phenomenon. However, this has been offset somewhat by the growth of an almost uninterrupted built-up area around the city, which reduces local air circulation, and by the gray smog, or traffic-related air pollution, that often covers the city.
Milan’s Teatro alla Scala (“Theatre at the Stairway”; popularly called La Scala), constructed in 1776–78 and designed by the leading Neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini, is one of the great opera houses of the world. Damaged by bombing during World War II, La Scala was quickly reconstructed and reopened with a concert by Arturo Toscanini in 1946. Extensive renovations also took place in the early 21st century. The city contains several other theatres, including the Teatro San Babila and the Teatro Piccolo. There are numerous motion-picture houses as well.
Sections of the Navigli, a 16th-century network of communication and transportation canals, remain, especially in the southern part of the city. These canal zones were once among the poorest parts of the city, but in the 1980s they began to develop into centres for small businesses (especially those linked to the fashion industry) and nightlife. These areas now attract large crowds of people who frequent the numerous bars, restaurants, and shops alongside the canals.
Milan is the leading sports centre of Italy. The huge, spectacular San Siro stadium, rebuilt for the 1990 World Cup, sits on the northwestern edge of the city. Both the AC Milan and Inter Milan football (soccer) teams play their home matches at the San Siro, which can hold up to 80,000 people. The nearby Ippodromo San Siro, a large horse-racing complex, is one of the best in Europe. The Lago Idroscalo, an artificial lake next to Linate Airport, is also a popular recreation area. The Grand Prix automobile-racing circuit at nearby Monza has an international reputation.
Milan, Italian Milano,
The destiny of Milan, like that of many of the world’s great cities, remains something of a historical paradox. There are powerful factors supporting the argument that Milan should have become the capital of a unified Italy, and this is the belief of many Milanese, in spite of the fact that the unity of Italy was actually born in Turin, rather than in Milan, in 1870. Milan, nevertheless, is the most industrious and vital city to have achieved prominence since the ancient land of Italy became aware of itself as a modern nation-state. Area city, 70 square miles (182 square km); province, 765 square miles (1,980 square km). Pop. (2001) city, 1,256,211; province, 3,707,210; (2007 est.) city, 1,303,437; province, 3,884,481.
The fact that Milan is at a distance from much of the rest of Italy, that it is peripheral in a geographic sense, does not explain its position of “second city,” a position it has always vainly fought. Indeed, some of the greatest European capitals are peripheral in this sense. Rather, Milan’s role was the consequence of the immense historical importance and the enormous accumulation of myths and symbols that conferred on Milan’s antagonist, Rome, an inevitable prestige. During the Risorgimento, the 19th-century movement for Italian unification, Rome became the heart of a future anticipated in the collective fantasies of the Italian people.
Yet although Rome remains the political capital of Italy, Milan has long been known as its “moral capital.” When the Milanese assert that their city is the moral capital, they not only express the ancient regionalism typical of all Italy and known as campanilismo (a reference to the church bell of each city), but they also refer to the city’s quality and values, historical as well as contemporary. And if the rest of Italy, Rome included, accepts this statement—or rather accepts the fact that the statement is made—it is because it is more than a simple claim. The claim is justified by contributions in every field—economic, cultural, and ideological—that the city of Milan, in modern times, and particularly since the unification of Italy, has made to the Italian state.
It was partly out of an opposition to the nature of Rome as a capital of government, and thereby the perceived capital of taxation, state spending, and political skullduggery, that Milan’s self-image as Italy’s moral capital was born. This notion was cemented in the late 19th century as an industrializing Milan set itself up as a capital of innovation, production, and efficiency—values the Milanese considered absent in Rome. The city’s sense of moral superiority—particularly the idea that the Milanese people were morally superior because of their positive work ethic—was reinforced as Milan ultimately became Italy’s centre of industry and finance, as well as the motor behind the country’s extraordinary economic development in the 20th century. Today Milan is the richest city in Italy and one of the richest in Europe.
Even though many intellectuals, writers, and artists have abandoned the city for Rome, Milan has succeeded in keeping alive an inquisitiveness and a spirit of polemic that involves not only itself and Rome but all other cities in Italy as well. The increased importance of the mass media in Italy, particularly of the Milan-based television networks, also has favoured the Milanese perspective—though this development has not damaged the poetic image of Rome nor reduced the prosaic character of Milan. Nevertheless, when one remembers that in the 19th century a writer such as Stendhal, one of the giants of French culture, wished to proclaim himself “Milanese” in his epitaph, one must indeed believe in the fascination Milan exerted then, and still does, and of which the city is fully conscious.
Milan is set in the heart of the Po Basin of northern Italy, halfway across the immense plain spreading between the Ticino and Adda rivers. The site is 400 feet (122 metres) above sea level. To the north lies the great sweep of the southern flank of the Alps. Between this semicircle of mountains and the course traced by the Po River to the south, there lies a zone that is arid toward the north but swampy near the Po, where it turns into an expanse of marshy groves and rice fields. It is at the line of demarcation between these two areas, which are strongly differentiated, that Milan has risen, although now only swamplands mark the site of the ancient city. The earliest inhabitants reinforced their defenses by means of the small watercourses of the Sèveso, the Nirone, the Lambro, and the Olona.
Milan’s climate is continental, with damp, chilly winters and hot, humid summers. Snow falls between December and February, and springtime is generally rainy. In winter temperatures range between 30 and 50 °F (−1 and 10 °C) and in summer between 68 and 86 °F (20 and 30 °C). Characteristic of the Po Basin, fog often shrouds the city in winter. The removal of rice fields from the southern neighbourhoods and the closure of most of the city’s heavy industry have reduced the phenomenon. However, this has been offset somewhat by the growth of an almost uninterrupted built-up area around the city, which reduces local air circulation, and by the gray smog, or traffic-related air pollution, that often covers the city.
Milan’s Teatro alla Scala (“Theatre at the Stairway”; popularly called La Scala), constructed in 1776–78 and designed by the leading Neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini, is one of the great opera houses of the world. Damaged by bombing during World War II, La Scala was quickly reconstructed and reopened with a concert by Arturo Toscanini in 1946. Extensive renovations also took place in the early 21st century. The city contains several other theatres, including the Teatro San Babila and the Teatro Piccolo. There are numerous motion-picture houses as well.
Sections of the Navigli, a 16th-century network of communication and transportation canals, remain, especially in the southern part of the city. These canal zones were once among the poorest parts of the city, but in the 1980s they began to develop into centres for small businesses (especially those linked to the fashion industry) and nightlife. These areas now attract large crowds of people who frequent the numerous bars, restaurants, and shops alongside the canals.
Milan is the leading sports centre of Italy. The huge, spectacular San Siro stadium, rebuilt for the 1990 World Cup, sits on the northwestern edge of the city. Both the AC Milan and Inter Milan football (soccer) teams play their home matches at the San Siro, which can hold up to 80,000 people. The nearby Ippodromo San Siro, a large horse-racing complex, is one of the best in Europe. The Lago Idroscalo, an artificial lake next to Linate Airport, is also a popular recreation area. The Grand Prix automobile-racing circuit at nearby Monza has an international reputation.
