Milano

Milan is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy, and is one of the most highly developed urban centres in Europe. The municipality (Comune di Milano) has a population of 1.3 million. The population of the urban area, that coincides with the Province of Milan, is estimated to be 3,884,481. Finally, the official population of the Milan Metropolitan area counts over 7.4 million residents, the largest in Italy. The municipal border covers a relatively small area (about one-eighth of that of Rome) because of the historical development of high density centres in agriculturally rich Lombardy. The urban agglomoration centred around Milan, however, extends well beyond and includes some Swiss territories in southern Canton Ticino, although this does not imply any kind of administrative unity. Milan is also renown as one of the world capitals of design and fashion. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. The Lombard metropolis is famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall). The city hosted the World Exposition in 1906 and has submitted a bid to BIE to host the Universal Expo in 2015. Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanese" (Italian: Milanesi or informally Meneghini or Ambrosiani).Milan is one of the major artistic centres of northern Italy. Its chief landmarks include:-The Duomo, the second largest church in Italy, the world's second largest gothic church (after the Cathedral in Seville) and the world's largest collection of marble statues with the widely visible golden Madonna statue on top of the spire, la Madunina (little Madonna), the symbol of Milan. -Teatro alla Scala. Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with his famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala). -The Castello Sforzesco -The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio -The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Lorenzo -The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, containing drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture. The city is also the home of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. -The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, housing one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper -The church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, with a famous trompe l'oeil traditionally ascribed to Bramante -The Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Poldi Pezzoli, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum and the Musei del Castello galleries, which host a great number of pictorial masterpieces.