Although Rome is the Italian capital, Milan is the powerhouse behind the country’s economy, primarily in terms of industry and fashion. Although it’s not that large a city, it can hold a large population and traffic density, and allows visitors to enjoy both one of the top shop windows of today’s fashion and a vast legacy of well-preserved churches, basilicas and palaces that date from an age when the city was a leading light throughout Europe.
Many of its streets reveal the avant-garde and entrepreneurial nature of the most modern Italian.
A coffee on one of Milan’s terraces surrounded by the elegant Milanese, dropping into any of the fashion boutiques in the quadrilatero d’oro and visiting the third-largest church in the world (the largest Gothic church), el Duomo, and one of the icons of opera, La Scala, is an absolute must.
And, if there’s time, you can always get away and discover one of the lakes that embrace the city.
Throughout its history, Milan has demonstrated its great ability to rebuild itself. And, following its foundation by the tribes of Gaul in the 4th century BC, the city considered to be the second most important in Italy has emerged from its ashes after being sacked by the Goths, Barbarossa and finally the Allies in World War II.
