Milan, Italy’s moral capital and gateway to the world

Saturday, 30 April 2011 - 02:01 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Architecture
Reading Time:  6 minutes

Milan Cathedral - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Royal Palace of Milan © Dodo

Milan Cathedral – Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Royal Palace of Milan © Dodo

Milan is a city in Italy and the capital of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1,318,000, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza, is one of Europe’s largest with an estimated population of 4 million spread over 1,980 km2, with a consequent population density of more than 2,000 inhab./km2. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper following the great economic boom of the 1950-60s and massive commuting flows suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of the city proper and its agglomeration, creating a metropolitan area of 7.4 million population expanded all over the central section of Lombardy region. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density.

Milan is recognised as a world fashion and design capital, with a major influence in commerce, industry, music, sport, literature, art and media; it has thus been ranked by GaWC as an Alpha+ world city in 2008. The Lombard metropolis is especially famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along Via Monte Napoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world’s oldest shopping mall). The city has an ancient cultural heritage and legacy, vibrant nightlife, and is home to numerous famous dishes, such as the Panettone Christmas cake and the risotto alla Milanese. The city has a particularly famous musical, particularly operatic, tradition, being the home of several important composers (such as Giuseppe Verdi) and theatres (such as the Teatro alla Scala). Milan is also well-known for containing several important museums, universities, academies, palaces, churches and libraries (such as the Academy of Brera and the Castello Sforzesco) and two renowned football teams: A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano. The city hosted the 1906 World Exposition and will host the 2015 Universal Exposition.

Milan is undergoing an urban re-design. Construction projects are under way to rehabilitate disused industrial areas on the periphery. The schemes include the addition to the Teatro alla Scala; the CityLife project in the old trade exhibition site; the new quarter Santa Giulia; and the Porta Nuova project in the Garibaldi-Repubblica zone. Many famous architects participate, such as Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Massimiliano Fuksas and Daniel Libeskind. The tasks will change the skyline of Milan, which would no longer be dominated by the Duomo and the Pirelli Tower. Milan will host Expo 2015 as a renewed city in the wake of this modernization.

Villa Reale in the Giardini Comunali © Friedrichstrasse Villa Borromeo a Cassano d'Adda © Fabexplosive University of Milan - Central building © G.dallor Giovanni Dall Teatro alla Scala © Rüdiger Wölk Santa Maria delle Grazie Chruch © Abelson San Siro Stadium © Sotutto Progetto Porta Nuova © High Contrast Nursing Home for Musicians, founded by Giuseppe Verdi © Folini Milan Stock Exchange © Conte di Cavour Milan Montage © Dolphin Jedi Milan Cathedral © Chrkl Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II © Alterboy Catholic University of the Sacred Heart © Gabriele Barni Castello Sforzesco di Milano © Marco Bonavoglia Arco della Pace V © Zanner Milan Cathedral - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Royal Palace of Milan © Dodo
<
>
Milan Cathedral - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Royal Palace of Milan © Dodo
Workers in Milan have the highest average incomes in Italy: €30,009. The city, by the total income, comes second in Italy, after Rome, with €29,825,439,714. In worldwide terms, Milan’s workers have the 26th highest gross earnings, four places up from 2008 in which it was 30th. In such a way, Milan has overcome cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, yet still falls behind Montreal and Toronto. According to a study by Mercer, Milan is the 41st best world city in terms of quality of life, coming after London and Kobe, and overtaking Portland, Oregon and Barcelona.

Milan is one of EU’s most important tourist destinations, also being the 7th best city in Europe in terms of touristic reputation, attractions and branding; with 1.902 million arrivals in 2007, 1.914 million in 2008 and 1.894 million in 2009, it places itself 42nd, 52nd and 63rd, respectively, most visited city in the world. According to a particular source, 56% of international visitors to Milan are from Europe, whilst 44% of the city’s tourists are Italian, and 56% are from abroad. The most important European Union markets are the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%) and France (6%). According to the same study, most of the visitors who come from the USA to the city go on business matters, whilst Chinese and Japanese tourists mainly take up the leisure segment.

Milan’s higher education system comprises 39 university centres (44 faculties, 174,000 new students a year, equal to 10% of the entire Italian university population), and has the largest number of university graduates and postgraduate students (34,000 and more than 5,000, respectively) in Italy.

To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facepage pages/Twitter accounts. Read more on City of Milan, lonelyplanet.com – Travel Information and Guide Milan, Wikitravel Milan and Wikipedia Milan. Learn more about the use of photos.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Theme Week Funen - Nyborg

Theme Week Funen - Nyborg

[caption id="attachment_243730" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Andree Stephan/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of...

[ read more ]

Castaway Cay in the Bahamas

Castaway Cay in the Bahamas

[caption id="attachment_152623" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Flying Dutchman at Castaway Cay © EmbraerSkyPilot[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Castaway Cay is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Di...

[ read more ]

Old Synagogue in Essen

Old Synagogue in Essen

[caption id="attachment_205423" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Tuxyso/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Old Synagogue (German: Alte Synagoge) is a cultural meeting center and memorial in the city of Essen in Germany. It ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week East Anglia - Bury St Edmunds

Theme Week East Anglia - Bury St Edmunds

[caption id="attachment_150394" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Abbey Gardens and Cathedral © geograph.org.uk - Robert Edwards/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, and for...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Jordan - Irbid

Theme Week Jordan - Irbid

[caption id="attachment_165916" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Jordan University of Science and Technology's Library, the largest library in the Middle East© Fawwaz Dawod/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Irbid, known in ancie...

[ read more ]

Trapani in Sicily

Trapani in Sicily

[caption id="attachment_216272" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Myke Bryan/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Tr...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Laos - Pakse

Theme Week Laos - Pakse

[caption id="attachment_213848" align="aligncenter" width="590"] River bank of Don Khon with stilt wooden houses and leaning Arecaceae at golden hour from Don Det© Basile Morin/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Pakse is the capi...

[ read more ]

Tilburg, in the heart of Brabant

Tilburg, in the heart of Brabant

[caption id="attachment_159787" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Street view © Michielverbeek[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Bra...

[ read more ]

The Seabourn Quest

The Seabourn Quest

[caption id="attachment_203429" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © José Valenzuela Arce/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]MV Seabourn Quest is a luxury cruise ship in Seabourn Cruise Line. It was constructed by Italian shipbuil...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Scotland - Paisley

Theme Week Scotland - Paisley

[caption id="attachment_152539" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Paisley Cenotaph and war memorial © geograph.org.uk - Stephen Sweeney/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Paisley (Scottish Gaelic: Pàislig) is the largest town...

[ read more ]

Bucharest, Paris of the East

Bucharest, Paris of the East

[caption id="attachment_154255" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Museum of the Arts © Laurap[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bucharest is the capital city, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Ro...

[ read more ]

Le Bon Marché, the first department store in the world

Le Bon Marché, the first department store in the world

[caption id="attachment_161307" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Le Bon Marché © François Rejeté[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Le Bon Marché ("the good market", or "the good deal" in French) is the name of one of the most famous depa...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top