Milan

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This article is about the city in Italy. For the city in Texas, see Milano, Texas. For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation).
Municipality of Milan
Coat of arms of Municipality of Milan
Municipal coat of arms
Country Flag of Italy Italy
Region Lombardy
Province Milan (MI)
Mayor Letizia Moratti
Elevation 120 m
Area 182 km²
Population
 - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 1,308,735
 - Density 6,988/km²
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates 45°28′N, 09°10′E
Gentilic Milanesi or Meneghini
Dialing code 02
Postal code 20100, 20121-20162
Patron St. Ambrose
 - Day December 7


Location of Milano in Italy
Website: www.comune.milano.it

Milan (Italian: Milano; Lombard: Milan (listen)) is one of the biggest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. The city proper (Comune di Milano) has about 1,308,735 inhabitants (2004). The population of the urban area (Greater Milan La Grande Milano), comprising the core of Lombardy, is estimated, as of 2006, to be about 4,280,820 people. Finally, the official population of Milan Metro Area counts around 7,400,000 residents (2006). Milan has become one of the most highly developed urban centers in Europe.

By population, Milano is Italy's 2nd largest city and the 3rd Metro Area of the EU. Municipal borders wrap a relatively small area—about one-eighth that of Rome—because of the historical high density of population centers in agriculturally rich Lombardy. The heavily urbanized area centered in Milan includes some Swiss territories in southern Canton Ticino: this does not imply any kind of administrative unity, though. Milan is an alpha world full service city in GaWc inventory.

The city is one of the world's major commercial and financial centers, and one of the wealthiest cities in the European Union. Milan is one of the world capitals of fashion—along with New York City, Paris, London, Tokyo—and design. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. The Lombard metropolis is famous for fashion firms and shops (via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo, reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall. Another famed Milanese product is the traditional Christmas sweet cake, called Panettone. Milan is also famous for the Alfa Romeo motorcar and for its silk production; but on the whole relies on its directional functions for the whole of Lombardy, its once proud and strong industrial base having been externalized throughout the region in the 60s-70s of the last century. The city hosted among other events the World Exposition in 1906, the FIFA World Cup in 1934 and 1990, the UEFA European Football Championship in 1980, and has submitted a bid to BIE to host the Universal Expo 2015.

Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanese" (Italian: Milanesi or informally Meneghini or Ambrosiani).

Contents

[edit] Name

Milan's name is believed by some to derive from the Celtic Medelhan[citation needed], meaning "in the middle of the plain", due either to its location in a plain close to the confluence of two small rivers, the Olona and the Seveso, or perhaps to its being close to, and roughly equidistant from, two major rivers, the Ticino and the Adda. The Romans transcribed the name as Mediolanum, which in Latin could also be interpreted as meaning "wool in the middle". Thus arose the legend, built on Celtic lore about the boar as a mythical animal: according to a prophecy the site for the settlement would have been indicated to a Celtic king by the appearance of a wild pig or boar with a ridge of hair along its back, as reported by Cardano around 1626:

Nel fabricar de le superbe mura
De la prima Città ch'abbian gl'Insubri
Uscì da i fondamenti un gran Cinghiale,
Mezzo di pel setoso, e mezzo ignudo,
Onde MILAN chiamossi
Da gli Hedui, o Borgognoni, o pur da i Franchi,
Da cui l'origine hebbe,
Che altri di MEZZA LANA dir potrebbe

Translated:

While building the majestic walls
Of the first Town the Insubres have
From the foundation a big boar came
Half silky with hair, and half bare
Hence it was called MILAN
By the Aedui, the Burgundians or the Franks,
And from this had its origin
What others could call HALF WOOL

Today the boar is still sometimes used as a symbol of the city. According to another explanation, Mediolanum comes from a corruption of In medio lanorum meaning between the rivers - actually Milan still includes the two small Olona and Seveso rivers.

The German name for the city is Mailand, while in the local Western Lombard dialect, the city's name is Milán, pronounced quite as in French.


[edit] Demography

Milan's province (due to be dissolved sooner or later into the Metropolitan City, a new administrative unit not yet implemented) lies in the western part of Lombardy; it covers an area of 1,981 square kilometers and has a population of 3,839,216 (2005); in 1991, the population was 3,738,685. The province comprises 188 communes, ranging in population (2001) from Milan (1,308,311) to Nosate (638); between 1991 to 2001, the city of Milan has lost 113,084 inhabitants (8.3 percent) mostly due to suburban sprawl and expulsion of population from the inner city center, which is now almost fully dedicated to offices and commerce. In November 2006, the official population of Milan Metro Area, in an area of more than 9,000 square kilometers, was certificated for the first time, counting 7.4 million residents.

Like many cities in northern Italy, the population is highly aged, similar to many of its northern neighbours. In 2005, 14.44 percent of the population is under 18, while those over 60 years of age constitute 29.94 percent. Despite this, the population of Milano grew 2.11 percent mostly from migrants from around the world as well as internal migrants from Italy. The city has seen a massive influx of foreigners over the last few decades. However, unlike other Italian cities, the majority of foreigners are from Asia, and Africa, instead of Eastern Europe. In total, they comprise 12.47 per cent of the city's population, the largest being Filipino (26,459), Egyptian (20,904), Peruvian (13,758), Chinese (12,960), and Ecuadorian (12,339). [1]

[edit] Climate

Milan has a continental climate [2], with very little to share with central and southern Italy, which are famous for a comfortable Mediterranean climate. Milan winters are typically damp and chilly, while summers are hot and humid. Average temperatures are -2/+4°C in January and +17/+29°C in July. Snowfalls were once common between December and February, up to some 40 cm (15 in) per year; they're now increasingly rare. Humidity is quite high during the whole year and yearly rain averages 1000 mm (40 in). In the stereotypical image the city is often shrouded in fog, characteristic of the Po Basin, although the removal of rice fields from the southern neighbourhoods and the reduction of pollution levels have reduced the phenomenon in recent years.

Weather averages for Milan, Italy
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high °F (°C) 44 (6) 47 (8) 56 (13) 62 (16) 70 (21) 77 (25) 83 (28) 82 (27) 75 (23) 64 (17) 52 (11) 45 (7) 63 (17)
Avg low °F (°C) 25 (-3) 27 (-2) 34 (1) 40 (4) 49 (9) 55 (12) 60 (15) 60 (15) 54 (12) 44 (6) 33 (0) 26 (-3) 42 (5)
Precipitation in. (cm) 2.0 (5) 2.4 (6) 3.5 (8) 4.9 (12) 4.9 (12) 3.5 (8) 2.5 (6) 3.5 (8) 2.7 (6) 3.3 (8) 4.2 (10) 2.0 (5) 38.3 (97)
Source: Weatherbase[1] Feb 2007

[edit] Economy

Milan is one of the major financial and business centres of the world. The city is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (la Borsa Italiana)"Piazza Affari" and its hinterland is an avant-garde industrial area.

Fiera Milano, the city's Exhibition Center and Trade Fair complex, is notable. This new fairground, in the north-western suburb of Pero and Rho (opened in April 2005), is Europe's largest open construction project, making Fiera Milano the largest trade fair complex in the world. Milan is one of the world capital for fashion and the world leader for design. The town is also one of the richest cities in the European Union.

Milan was included in a list of ten "Alpha world cities" by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang of the Brookings Institution in the economic report "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'" (Key Findings, Full ReportPDF)..;

[edit] Famous firms in Milan

Milan
Milan

[edit] Culture and art

For a complete list of landmarks, see Buildings and structures in Milan

Milan is one of the major artistical centres of northern Italy. An incomplete list of landmarks include:

Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala).

[edit] Cucina Milanese

As most of the cities in Italy, Milan has its own typical food. This includes "Cotoletta alla Milanese", fried meat with bread powder, which some says it is of Austrian origins. Other typical dishes are Casoela, Polenta, Pizzoccheri, Ossobuco, Risotto alla Milanese. Season-related dishes are "Chiacchiere" for Carnival, "Tortelli fritti" for Easter and "Panettone" for Christmas. Milan has also a tradition of pastries.

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities

Milan is home to many universities and other institutions of higher learning. This is a list of institutions of higher learning in Milan:

[edit] Infrastructure of transportation

[edit] Airports

The city has a large international airport known as Malpensa International Airport (MXP), located near the industrial towns of Busto Arsizio and Gallarate and connected to the downtown with the "Malpensa Express" railway service (from Cadorna Station). Malpensa was designed by the famous Ettore Sottsass. Milan also has the Linate Airport (LIN) within the city limits (for European and domestic traffic), connected with bus line 73 (from S. Babila). A third airport is Orio al Serio (BGY), close to the city of Bergamo. Vergiate, Venegono, Bresso, Voghera and Montichiari are further airports in the region.

[edit] Subways, tramways, and buses

Milan has 3 subway lines (M1 - red, M2 - green, M3 - yellow) and the system, called Milan Metro - "M", running for more than 80 km. There is also a light metro-service, "Metrò S. Raffaele", connecting the San Raffaele Hospital with Cascina Gobba station (M2). Extensions of lines 1, 2 and 3 are under construction, to create more than 15 km of track with 10 new stations. Line 5 is also under construction, to be finished in the first half of 2008. Lines 4 (linking downtown with Linate Airport) and 6 are in planning stages.

Greater Milan also has one of the most extensive tramway systems in the world, with more than 286 km of track, and 20 lines.

Ninety-three bus lines cover over 1,070 km between them. The local transportation authority (ATM) transported more than 600 million passengers in 2003 .

[edit] Railway

Inside Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery
Inside Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery
Brera Astronomical Observatory
Brera Astronomical Observatory
San Lorenzo church
San Lorenzo church
Garibaldi-Repubblica financial district
Garibaldi-Repubblica financial district
Brera Museum courtyard
Brera Museum courtyard
San Siro Stadium, one of Europe's biggest
San Siro Stadium, one of Europe's biggest
Liceo Beccaria - Beccaria High School
Liceo Beccaria - Beccaria High School
Il Giorno newspaper headquarter
Il Giorno newspaper headquarter

Milan is the second railway hub of Italy, and the five major stations of Milan are among Italy's busiest. The first rail road built in Milan, the Milan and Monza Rail Road was opened for service on August 17th, 1840.

Station in the city

  • Milano Centrale (passenger station - the second busiest Italian station)
  • Milano P.ta Garibaldi (passenger station)
  • Milano Lambrate (passenger station)
  • Milano Rogoredo (passenger station and cargo station)
  • Milano Cadorna (passenger station and cargo station)
  • Milano Bovisa-Politecnico (passenger station)
  • Milano Greco (passenger station)
  • Milano Porta Genova (passenger statio and cargo station)
  • Milano San Cristoforo (passenger and cargo station)
  • Milano Porta Romana (passenger and cargo station)
  • Milano Certosa (passenger station)
  • Milano Villapizzone (passenger station)
  • Milano Lancetti (passenger station)
  • Milano Repubblica (passenger station)
  • Milano Porta Venezia (passenger station)
  • Milano Dateo (passenger station)
  • Milano Porta Vittoria (passenger station)
  • Milano Smistamento/Scalo Farini (cargo-trains)
  • Milano Romolo (passenger station)

Other new stations for passenger service are under construction:

  • Milano Tibaldi
  • Milano/Rho Fiera

High speed train lines are under construction all across Italy, and new lines will open from Milan to Rome and Naples, and from Milan to Torino. The stations for the TAV (Treni ad Alta Velocità - High Speed Trains) will be:

  • Milano Rogoredo (for the south)
  • Milano Certosa and Milano/Rho Fiera (for the west)

A line from Milan to Venice and then to Trieste is under construction. At the end of the work, the TAV station for Milan to the east will be:

  • Milano Pioltello

[edit] Regional-Metropolitan Railway services

The Suburban Railway Service ( "S" Lines, a service similar to the French RER and German S-Bahn), composed of eight suburban lines and ten more scheduled for 2008, connects the "Greater Milan" to cities such as Como and Varese. The Regional Railway Service ("R"), instead, links Milan with the rest of Lombardy and the national railway system. The "Passante ferroviario" is an underground railway serving a couple of "S" lines and is very much like another subway line (and is even marked as such on subway maps), except that it is connected to LeNord and Trenitalia suburban networks.

[edit] Taxis

Milan has a taxi service operated by private companies and licensed by the City of Milan (Comune di Milano). All taxis are the same color, white. Prices are based on time elapsed and distance traveled. As the number of licences is kept low by lobbying of present taxi drivers, prices are fairly high (significantly higher than, for example, in New York) and finding a taxi may be difficult in rush hours.

[edit] Sports

Football is the most important sport in Italy, and Milan is home to two world-famous football teams: A.C. Milan and Internazionale. The former is normally referred to as "Mìlan" (notice the stress on the first syllable, unlike the English and Milanese name of the city), the latter as "Inter".

Milan is the only city in Europe whose teams have won both the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. Both teams play at Giuseppe Meazza - San Siro Stadium (85,700). Many of the strongest Italian football players were born in Milan, in the surrounding metropolitan area, or in Lombardy: Valentino Mazzola, Paolo Maldini, Giuseppe Meazza, Giacinto Facchetti, Luigi Riva, Gaetano Scirea, Giuseppe Bergomi, Walter Zenga, Antonio Cabrini, Roberto Donadoni, Gianluca Vialli, Silvio Piola, Giampiero Boniperti, Gabriele Oriali, Giovanni Trapattoni and Franco Baresi as well as many others.

  • The famous Monza Formula One circuit is located near the city, inside a wide park. It is one of the world's oldest car racing circuits, and one of the most famous. The capacity for the F1 races is currently around 137,000 spectators, although in the 1950s the stands could hold more than 250,000. It has hosted an F1 race nearly every year since the first year of competition, exception made of 1980.
  • Olimpia Milano is a successful European basketball team that have won 3 European Cups, a World Cup, 3 Winners' Cups, 2 Korac Cups and 25 National Championships. It is the most important Italian team and one of the top 5 in Europe. Olimpia play at the Forum (capacity 14,000)
  • Rhinos Milano American Football Club is the oldest American football club in Milan and have have won four Italian Super Bowls. They are one of the five foundation clubs of the Italian Football League.
  • The Amatori Rugby Milano have won 18 National Championships and are the most famous and important Rugby team in Italy.
  • Different ice hockey teams from Milan have won 30 National Championships between them. The Vipers Milano have won the last 4 national championships, the Alpenliga and several Coppa Italia, and are the leaders of that sport in Italy. They play at the Agora Stadium (capacity 4,500) during the regular season, and at the Forum during playoffs
  • Every year, Milan hosts the Bonfiglio Trophy Under 18 Tennis Tournament. It is the most important youth tournament in the world, and is played at the Milan Tennis Club. The central court has a capacity of 8000. Past winners include Tacchini, Jan Kodes, Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti, Moreno, Björn Borg, Smid, Ivan Lendl, Guy Forget, Jim Courier, Goran Ivanišević, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Guillermo Coria.

Milan and Lombardy are candidates for the Summer Olympic Games of 2020 ("Milan-Lombardy 2020").

[edit] Stadia

  • Autodromo Nazionale Monza - car and motorcycle racing - 137,000
  • San Siro - only football; Milan and Inter Milan - 85,700
  • Arena Civica - Athletics, Rugby, Football, American Football 30,000
  • Brianteo - Athletics, Football - 18,568
  • Ippodromo del Trotter - Horse Racing - 16,000
  • Ippodromo del Galoppo - Horse Racing - 15,000
  • Forum di Assago - Basketball, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Music - 13,000 to 16,000
  • MazdaPalace - Basketball, Volleyball - 13,500
  • Velodromo Vigorelli - Cycling, American Football - 12,000
  • PalaLido - Basketball - 5,000
  • Agorà - Ice Hockey - 4,000
  • Nuovo Giuriati - Rugby - 4,000

There are other stadiums and multiuse palaces located in the metropolitan area, the biggest being Monza Brianteo Stadium (18,000 seats), the PalaDesio (10,000) and Geas Stadium (8,500).

Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
A.C. Milan Serie A Football San Siro - Giuseppe Meazza 1899 3 World cups; 6 European championship; 17 Italian championship
F.C. Internazionale Milano Serie A Football San Siro - Giuseppe Meazza 1908 2 World cups; 2 European championship; 14 Italian championship
Olimpia Milano Serie A Basketball Datchforum 1936 1 World cup; 3 European championship; 25 Italian championship
H.C. Milano/Milano Vipers Serie A Ice Hockey Agorà 1924 2 European championship; 20 Italian championship
H.C. Diavoli/Devils today settled in Courmayeur Serie A Ice Hockey – 1930 3 European championship; 7 Italian championship
Amatori Rugby Serie B Rugby Stadio Giuriati 1928 18 Italian championship
Rhinos Milano Serie A2 American Football Velodromo Vigorelli-Maspes 1977 4 Italian championship

[edit] Communication & media

Milan is the base of operations for many local and nationwide communication services and businesses, such as newspapers, magazines, and TV and radio stations.

[edit] Newspapers

[edit] Magazines

  • Panorama (weekly)
  • La Settimana Enigmistica

[edit] External links

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