Milan: Description of the City

Milan is a city and commune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Milan (Italian, Milano) is also the capital of Milan province and of Lombardy. It is the second most populous city in Italy and the country's industrial, commercial, and financial center. It lies in the fertile Po plain midway between the Po River and the Alpine foothills. The climate is continental, with cold winters and hot summers. Fog and rain are frequent in the fall and winter months.

Milan's cathedral marks the center of Milan, just as the site of the cathedral once formed the center of the Roman city of Mediolanum. In the Middle Ages, Old Milan grew up around the cathedral site. In the 16th century the Spaniards extended the city beyond its medieval limits. In time Milan outgrew the walls built by the Spaniards. Today the city's residential and industrial suburbs form the outer limits of the metropolitan area.
 
Streets radiate from the center of the city out to these suburbs, and concentric boulevards mark the various stages in the city's growth. The innermost concentric line of boulevards has replaced the Roman walls. Farther from the center is a line of concentric boulevards following the canals built in the 12th century for defense. Still farther out is the ring of "bastioni" delimiting the Spanish city of the 16th century (which is equivalent to today's "inner city").
 
Though many of Old Milan's streets are twisting and narrow, the city is generally modern in appearance. Main thoroughfares have been enlarged to handle the ever-increasing traffic in the inner city, and city planners have made strides in replacing the radial plan with rectangular patterns. Since World War II, office and apartment skyscrapers have made their appearance. One of the most impressive is the 32-story Pirelli Building, which rises above the Piazza Duca d'Aosta, opposite the main railway station.

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