Milan, host city of the World Expo 2015

Milan, host city of the World Expo 2015, is one of the most important in Italy, both by its population and by its strategical economic importance.

Milan, an European crossroad

Milan, City Center

Capital of the Lombardy region, situated in the middle of the plains of the Pô, Milan counts approximately 1 340 000 inhabitants in 2014. By including its urban area, it constitutes the biggest urban area of the country. Former capital of the Western Roman Empire, Milan is the industrial, commercial, financial and university heart of Italy nowadays. Siege of the Italian stock exchange, it represents a big center of attractivity for the headquarters of companies, in particular in the sector of the fashion and the design. Indeed, Milan is one of the world fashion capitals : Milan welcomes one of the major « fashion weeks » and the International fair of the piece of furniture. 

Piazza del Duomo

Near 185,000 people live in Milan to study in institutions such as the prestigious Bocconi University, primary site of training of Italian political and economic elites. Leading tourist destination, with nearly two million tourists each year, it houses an important cultural heritage, made up of squares (Piazza del Duomo, Piazza Mercanti), palaces built during the Renaissance (Royal Palace of Milan, Palazzo della Ragione, Casa Panigarola), its famous opera (La Scala) and many museums.

Palazzo della Ragione

Native city of great painters such as Caravaggio and Arcimboldo, as well as former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Milan is at the crossroads of several regional importance routes of communication. Its location explains its history and its role in the Italian nation or transalpine countries.

La Scala

The city is served by three airports: the international airport of Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo-Orio al Serio. 

Overall, the three airports handle an annual traffic of about 34 million passengers, and constitute the second largest airport system in Italy after Rome. 
We will go back to this theme later in a post that'll be dedicated to transportation in Milan, and especially to its two international train station and its entire rail network.

Being an exceptionally cultural city, Milan has attracted various of history's greatest artists including people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Bramante, Arcimboldo, .... During Austrian domination, the city witnessed the development of many art schools, as well as its ballet and opera theatre: Teatro Regio Ducal. Mozart composed three operas in this theater: Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770); Ascanio in Alba (1771); and Lucio Silla (1772).

Vertumnus, Archimboldo, 1590.

Fruitbasket, Le Caravaggio, 1595.

Fight between a dragon and a lion, Leonard Da Vinci, about 1478.