Journey and Joy

Milan is the hub of a great network of railroads and highways that serve its industries and commerce. The city's industries are highly diversified and include such metalworking manufactures as aircraft, locomotives, and railroad equipment; automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, motor scooters, and bicycles; turbines and diesel engines; and agricultural machinery. The textile and clothing industries play a leading part in Milan's economy. Silk is still an important product of the region.   Italy's manufacture of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and artificial fibers is centered in Milan. Leather, processed wood and paper, food, and rubber are all products of its factories. The publishing, graphics, and printing industries have deep roots in Milan.   The city is an active market center for the rich agricultural region that surrounds it. It also serves as a wholesale market in various products for both domestic and international trade. Its annual trade fa...

Originally a Celtic settlement, Milan or Mediolanum as it was known, was seized by Rome in 222 B.C. It became the seat of the vicar of Italy and the residence of the emperors of the west in the 4th century A.D. By the Edict of Milan (313), freedom of worship was granted all religious groups in the empire, including the Christians. Saint Ambrose was bishop of Milan from 373 or 374 to 397. The Ambrosian liturgy he developed is still used in the city.   Though destroyed by the Goths in 539, the city revived in the 9th century. By the 12th century it was a free commune. It was sacked by Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158 and 1162, but survived and contributed to the Lombard League cities' defeat of Frederick at Legnano in 1176. At the Peace of Constance (1183) the emperor recognized Milanese independence. In spite of internal strife between Guelphs and Ghibellines and struggles with neighboring cities, Milan continued to grow.   The Torriani, leaders of the popul...

At the center of the city is the Piazza del Duomo, on one side of which is Italy's greatest Gothic cathedral ( duomo ). The apse of this white marble cathedral was begun in 1386. The work was continued by French, German, and Italian master masons. Although it was consecrated by Saint Charles Borromeo, cardinal and archbishop of Milan, in 1577, it was not completed until the late 19th century. The facade, finished in 1805–1809, is one of the cathedral's least impressive features. The exterior is adorned with a profusion of spires, statues, and other ornaments. There are 135 marble spires and many marble statues. The highest spire is topped by a statue of the Madonna. The cathedral's majestic interior is somber. The five aisles in the nave are separated by tall pillars. An impressive 16th century mausoleum by Leoni is in the south transept. On the north side of the Piazza del Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, an arcade lined with cafes, restaurants, and sp...

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 sub...

Sardinia lies in the Mediterranean Sea some 120 miles (190 km) southwest of central Italy. Though it is comparable in size to Sicily, its population is only about one third that of the other island. Geologically, Sardinia differs from the rest of Italy in that it consists mainly of ancient crystalline blocks rather than of folded sediments.   The most productive area is the Campidano rift valley, whose northern end (the area around Arborea) is irrigated from the Tirso River. The rest of this lowland is underdeveloped, but by the mid-1960s it was being improved with the aid of water diverted from the Flumendosa River.   With local exceptions, the remainder of the island is hilly or mountainous, and where it has not been abandoned to cork woodlands, scrub, or rough grazing, it is devoted to extensive wheat production, vines, and olives. Great progress has been made in taming the island's rivers (always a vital matter), and malaria, once a major scourge,...

The island of Sicily is divided from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina, barely 2 miles (3 km) in width. Most of the island consists of hill country, where the land is planted to wheat or beans or left fallow. Sheep, much the most common species of animal in Mediterranean Italy, fit easily into this economy.   The Catania plain in eastern Sicily is overshadowed by the volcanic mass of Mt. Etna, more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) high. The plain is the island's largest lowland, but its satisfactory development has been thwarted by the erratic habits of its rivers. A mountainous belt in the north represents a continuation of the Apennines, with their diversity of rock types. Along the northern and eastern coasts there are a number of irrigated zones, particularly around the city of Palermo and around the base of Mt. Etna, where agriculture is highly intensive; tree crops, particularly oranges and lemons, are the specialty of these areas. The zone around Mars...

Italy may be divided into four basic geographic areas: the north, the peninsula (comprising central and southern Italy), the island of Sicily, and the island of Sardinia. It is hilly and mountainous country, with plains covering less than a quarter of its area.   The massive arc of the Alps, straddling Italy's frontier with its northern neighbors, sweeps around from the town of Savona located in the west to the Slovenian border in the east. The Alps shelter the northern plain, Italy's most extensive lowland, from the colder climates north of the Alps. The plain is blessed with long, warm summers and an abundant water supply from rainfall and rivers; it supports Italy's richest farmland and its heaviest concentration of industry.   Along the northwestern coast, in the region of Liguria, the Alps give way to the Apennine mountains, which curve southeastward to form the backbone of Italy's familiar boot-shaped peninsula. Except in Apulia, the ...