Milan

Milan (Italian: Milano; Lombard: Milan (listen)) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy, and is one of the most highly developed urban centres in Europe. The city proper (Comune di Milano) has a population of 1,308,735 inhabitants (2004). The population of the urban area, that coincides with the Province of Milan, is estimated as of 2006 to be 3,884,481 . Finally, the official population of the Milan Metropolitan area counts over 7.4 millions residents, the largest in Italy . The municipal border wraps a relatively small area (about one-eighth that of Rome) because of the historical development of high density centres in agriculturally rich Lombardy. The urban agglomoration centred around Milan, however, extends well beyond and includes some Swiss territories in southern Canton Ticino: this does not imply any kind of administrative unity, however. Milan is also renown as one of the world capitals of design and fashion. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. The Lombard metropolis is famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall). The city hosted the World Exposition in 1906 and has submitted a bid to BIE to host the Universal Expo in 2015. Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanese" (Italian: Milanesi or informally Meneghini or Ambrosiani).