MILAN

Milan is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. The city proper has about 1,308,500 inhabitants (2004), but the population of the urban area including the hinterland is about 4 million and is called La Grande Milano (Greater Milan, 1,981 square kilometres). The metropolitan area, called the Città Regione (The City Region) claims more than 9.4 million inhabitants (this is an ambitious definition of Milan's metropolitan area, perhaps not very comparable with figures claimed for metros outside Italy).

Milan's name has for many centuries been recorded as Mailand, which is still the German name of the city today. It comes from the Celtic Mid-lan (meaning "in the middle of the plain") and was known as Mediolanum by the Romans. Its province lies in the western part of Lombardy; it covers an area of 1,982 km2 and has a population of 3,839,818 (2004); in 1991, the population was 3,738,685. The province comprises 188 communes, ranging in population (2001) from Milan Municipality (1,308,311) to Nosate (638); the city of Milan has lost 113,084 inhabitants (8.3 percent), from 1991 to 2001. The town is famous for fashion firms and shops (via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele on the Piazza Duomo, reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall. Milan is one of the world capitals of fashion, like New York City, Paris, London and Rome, and design. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. Another famed product of the city is the traditional Christmas sweet cake called Panettone. Milan is also famous for the Alfa Romeo motorcar and for its silk production. Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanesi" and nicknamed "Meneghini".

Culture & Art
A greengrocer in central Milan with a sign in Milanese, the local dialect, claiming to be 'the oldest greengrocer of Milan' (l'ortolán püŝee vêcc de Milan)Milan is one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala, theatre). The Biblioteca Ambrosiana contains 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. In the church Santa Maria delle Grazie can be found one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper (it: "Cenacolo").