"Ciao" a Milan Travel Page by Ramonq

click: Italian music

Milan is Italy's economic showcase, where trends are being set and propagated around the world. Its glittering world of fashion rivals that of Paris; the cool Milanese designs of everyday household items, from toasters to furnitures, have become "objet de desire" for yuppies from San Francisco to Santiago; from Melbourne to Madrid; from Cape Town to Cologne. Even Italian car manufacturers approach Milan designers to create the latest automotive works of art. Milan is all about looking good and because of the success of its design industry, Milan has become a place to be seen for high-flying jetsetters and be photographed by the voracious Italian paparazzis as they come out the La Scala Opera House or shop at Galeria Vittorio Emanuel II. This is the place to be chased by the paparazzis because Milan is also Italy's media capital. And to do buisiness? Milan is the financial and commercial centre of Italy and its stock exchange is located right here as well. This is not the Italy of donkeys and grape-pickers, this is the bold face of Italy's economic future.

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Leonardo da Vinci

This is an incredible feat, considering that not so long ago, Milan was a fading backwater flying way below the global radar. But now Milan is called the "ugly duckling" who has transformed herself into a beautiful swan. So how did they do it? I believe that the Milanese got their inspiration from a man who lived in their city a long time ago, and he is still regarded as the father of creative design, Leonardo da Vinci. During the 15th century, he stayed with the powerful Sforza family at the Castello Sfrozesco in Milan's Centro Storico. One of da Vinci's famous fresco, the "Last Supper" has been restored and it can be viewed on a wall in Santa Maria delle Grazie church. He was a creative genius for his time and his works are truly inspirational even to modern man.

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History

Milan's history goes a long way back though. To really learn about Milan, I think that you should explore it in a piecemeal fashion according to its historical timeline. Start from the Roman era and then work your way to the Fascist period. Milan's history is very fascinating. It began as an ancient Celtic village before the Great Roman Empire took over it and called it "Mediallanum" from whence Milan was derived. The northern barbarians were a constant threat to the empire and Milan played its role as the empire's northern fortress. The town soon became the second largest city after Rome. The Roman Empire eventually declined, the city-state of Milan embraced Christianity and built medieval churches. Sant' Ambrogio is a fine example of this genre.The rise of the Visconti and Sforza families in feudal Milan led to the unprecendented prosperity for the city which occured at the same time when Europe was going through a Renaissance. Milan started building castles, and palaces, churches including the Duomo, the marvelous Milan cathedral. It was at this time that da Vinci lived and worked in Milan.

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After the downfall of the Sforza era, Milan was taken over by different European powers. Spain during the 16th century, Hapsburgs in the 17th century, Napoleon in the 18th century and Austro-Hungarian empire in the 19th centruy, each era contributing to the cities devlopment. The Spanish erected a wall around the city that was riddled with bubonic plague, and this wll still stands. The Hapsburgs constructed the world famous, La Scala Opera and the Palazzo Real,. Napoleon commissioned the "cerchia dei bastoni" ring road around the historic centre as well as other roads were built following Parisian system abd these are still used today. The shortlived Austro-Hungarian rule gave way to the Italian Republic under Vittorio Emanuel II.

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20th century Milan

Under the early Italian Republic, Milan gradually developed its banking system and the bourse for Italy. A huge shopping mall was built in the late 19th century next to La Scala and it was named after the Italian leader. The grand Galeria Vittorio Emannuel II , is now dubbed as "Milan's living room". Milan, under the Fascist Mussolini in the 1930's, built fascist minimalist houses and dormitories in impressive tree-lined avenues, but they were lifeless and had no community spirit at all. World War II destroyed many parts of Milan and the city's attractiveness waned. Rome took the shine off Milan and other Italian cities were more attractive to do business.

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Milan has fought back and it is now back on top where it belongs. The success of Milan has brought migrants from all over Italy and Europe to take part in the economic boom. Milan has become the envy of some Italian cities. Its lifestyle is a stark contrast to the poor laggard Italian cities like Naples. There have been some stirrings from some sectors in Milanese society to split away from the Republic because they are getting fed up with their southern Italian cousins. Methinks that it appears that Milan is getting impatient. This is a fast-paced affluent city and the stress is showing.