name	Milan
official name	''Comune di Milano''
native name	''Milano'' |nickname The Moral Capital of Italy
image shield	CoA Città di Milano.svg
coordinates display	title
region	Lombardy
province	Milan (MI)
mayor party	Left Ecology Freedom
mayor	Giuliano Pisapia
established title	Settled by Celts
established date	as Mediolanum c. 396 BC
area total km2	183.77
population total	1324110
population urban	4345000
population metro	7400000
population as of	31 December 2010
population demonym	Milanees/Milanese
elevation m	120
saint	Ambrose
day	December 7
postal code	20100, 20121-20162
area code	02
gdp per capita	175, 252 $
website
footnotes	}}

Milan ( |listen) is the second-largest city in Italy, the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza (created in 2004 splitting the northern part from the province of Milan itself), is one of Europe's largest with an estimated population of over 4 million spread over , with a consequent population density of more than 2,000 inhabitants/km². The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper following the great economic boom of the 1950-60s and massive commuting flows suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of the city proper and its agglomeration, creating a metropolitan area of 7.4 million population expanded all over the central section of Lombardy region. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called ''Blue Banana'', the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density.

The city was founded by the Insubres, a Celtic people. Milan was later captured by the Romans in 222 BC, and later was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 286 until 402 AD. Milan became one of the most prosperous Italian cities during the High Middle Ages, playing a primary role in the Lombard League. Later Milan became the capital city of the Duchy of Milan, being ruled by the Visconti, the Sforza, the Spanish and the Austrians. In 1796, Milan was conquered by the French troops of Napoleon I, who made it the capital of the puppet state of the Kingdom of Italy in 1805. Later Milan became the capital city of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, which was part of the Austrian Empire. In 1859 the city was unified with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later became the Kingdom of Italy. During the Romantic period, Milan was a major cultural centre in Europe, attracting several artists, composers and important literary figures. Later, during World War II, the city was badly affected by Allied bombings, and after German occupation in 1943, Milan became the main hub of the Italian resistance. Despite this, Milan saw a post-war economic growth, attracting thousands of immigrants from Southern Italy and abroad.

Over the years, Milan has had an increase in the number of international inhabitants, and 15.2% of Milan's population is foreign born. The city remains one of Europe's main transportation and industrial hubs, and Milan is the EU's 10th most important centre for business and finance (2009) with its economy being the world's 26th richest by purchasing power. The Milan metropolitan area has Europe's 7th largest GDP in 2008. The province of Milan (which increasingly is becoming a single administrative urban unit to supersede the limited commune) had a GDP pp per capita of around €40,000 in 2007 (161% of the EU 27 average) which was the highest of any Italian province (Il Sole 24 Ore Quality of life survey 2008) and the city's workers have the highest average income rates in Italy, and 26th in the world. In addition, Milan is the world's 11th most expensive city for expatriate employees, and according to a 2010 study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the city is the world's 12th most expensive to live in. Its economic environment has made it, according to several studies, the world's 20th and Europe's 10th top business and financial centre, having been highly successful in terms of city branding.

Milan is recognised as a world fashion and design capital, with a major influence in commerce, industry, music, sport, literature, art and media; it has thus been ranked by GaWC as an Alpha+ world city in 2008. The Lombard metropolis is especially famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along Via Monte Napoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall). The city has an ancient cultural heritage and legacy, vibrant nightlife, and is home to numerous famous dishes, such as the ''Panettone'' Christmas cake and the ''risotto alla Milanese''. The city has a particularly famous musical, particularly operatic, tradition, being the home of several important composers (such as Giuseppe Verdi) and theatres (such as the Teatro alla Scala). Milan is also well known for containing several important museums, universities, academies, palaces, churches and libraries (such as the Academy of Brera and the Castello Sforzesco) and two renowned football teams: A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano. Euromonitor International ranked Milan as the world's 63rd most visited city in 2009, with 1.894 million arrivals. The city hosted the 1906 World Exposition and will host the 2015 Universal Exposition.

Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanese" (Italian: or informally or ). Milan, for its pivotal economic role and its fervent political and cultural activity that often anticipates national trends, it is often nicknamed as the ''"moral capital of Italy"''.

History

Etymology

The English name ''Milan'' derives from the Lombard and the Italian form is ''Milano'' which stems from the Latin Mediolanum, the ancient city founded by the Celtic tribe of the Insubres, that was in possession of the city until the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC.. The Mediolanum name is borne by a number of Gallo-Roman sites in France, such as Mediolanum Santonum (Saintes) and Mediolanum Aulercorum (Évreux) and appears to contain the Celtic element -lan, signifying an enclosure or demarcated territory (source of the Welsh word 'llan', meaning a sanctuary or church). Hence, ''Mediolanum'' could signify the central town or sanctuary of a particular Celtic tribe.

The origin of the name and of a boar (the ''scrofa semilanuta'') as a symbol of the city are fancifully accounted for in Andrea Alciato's ''Emblemata'' (1584), beneath a woodcut of the first raising of the city walls, where a boar is seen lifted from the excavation, and the etymology of ''Mediolanum'' given as "half-wool", explained in Latin and in French. The foundation of Milan is credited to two Celtic peoples, the Bituriges and the Aedui, having as their emblems a ram and a boar; therefore "The city's symbol is a wool-bearing boar, an animal of double form, here with sharp bristles, there with sleek wool." Alciato credits Ambrose for his account.

The German name for the city is ''Mailand'', while in the local Western Lombard dialect, the city's name is Milán.

Celtic and Roman times

Around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres inhabited Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered this settlement, which was then called Mediolanum. After several centuries of Roman control, Milan was declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 293 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire (capital Nicomedia) and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one. Immediately Maximian built several gigantic monuments, like a large circus , the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other services and buildings.

In the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians. The city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, and the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. Fifty years later (in 452), the Huns overran the city. In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan in the course of the so-called Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, the Longobards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives) conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defence. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne, in an utterly novel decision, took the title "King of the Lombards" as well (before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people). The Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period. Subsequently Milan was part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its command of the rich plain of the Po and routes from Italy across the Alps. The war of conquest by Frederick I Barbarossa against the Lombard cities brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. After the founding of the Lombard League in 1167, Milan took the leading role in this alliance. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan became a duchy. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position could be fraught with personal dangers in the violent political life of the medieval commune: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby ''contado''; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the ''podestà'' was very nearly lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected ''Capitano del Popolo'' by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, successfully taxing the countryside. His policy, however, brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the Della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. It is worthy of note that the most important industries throughout the period were major armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

On 22 July 1262 Ottone Visconti was created archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the Della Torre candidate, Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter thus started to publicize allegations of the Visconti's closeness to the heretic Cathars and charged them of high treason: the Visconti, who accused the Della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The civil war which ensued caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, finally, after the victory in the Battle of Desio (1277), he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre forever, ruling the city and its possession until the 15th century.

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions—the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. However, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the German Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslas (1378–1400), raised the Milanese to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the Republic collapsed when in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

Early Modern

The French king Louis XII first laid claim to the duchy in 1492. At that time, Milan was defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignano, the duchy was promised to the French king Francis I. When the Habsburg Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, passed to the House of Habsburg.

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire. The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague which began with the Black Death.

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated in Ramillies and Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1815. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducal. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century other important theatres were ''La Cannobiana'' and the ''Teatro Carcano''.

On March 18, 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: ''Le Cinque Giornate''), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. However, after defeating Italian forces at Custoza on July 24, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. However, Italian nationalists, championed by the Kingdom of Sardinia, called for the removal of Austria in the interest of Italian unification. Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino in 1859. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy. The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction which had started under Austrian partronage (Venice-Milan; Milan-Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, though in the 1890s Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre. Milan's economic growth brought a rapid expansion in the city's area and population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini organized the Blackshirts, who formed the core of Italy's Fascist movement, in Milan and, in 1922, the March on Rome began from the city. During the Second World War Milan suffered severe damage from British and American bombing. Even though Italy quit the war in 1943, the Germans occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. Some of the worst Allied bombing of Milan was in 1944 and much of it focused around Milan's main railway station. In 1943, anti-German resistance in occupied Italy increased and there was much fighting in Milan. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan as part of the Po Valley Campaign. But even before they arrived, members of the Italian resistance movement rose up in open revolt in Milan and liberated the city. Nearby, Mussolini and several members of his Italian Social Republic (''Repubblica Sociale Italiana'', or RSI) were captured by the resistance at Dongo and executed. On 29 April 1945, the bodies of the Fascists were taken to Milan and hanged unceremoniously upside-down at Piazzale Loreto, a major public square.

After the war the city was the site of a refugee camp for Jews fleeing from Austria. During the economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s a large wave of internal immigration, especially from Southern Italy, moved to Milan and the population peaked at 1,723,000 in 1971. During this period, Milan saw a re-construction of most of its destroyed buildings and factories, and was affected by a rapid post-war economic growth, called ''Il boom'' in Italy. The city saw the construction of several innovative and modernist buildings and skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. Milan was, however, in the late-1960s until the late-1970s seriously affected by the Marxist/Leninist/Communist Italian group called ''Brigate Rosse'', or ''Red Brigades'', and the city was often filled with political manifestations and protests. A major event of this period of turmoil, known as the Years of Lead occurred in Milan on December 12, 1969, when a bomb exploded in the National Agrarian Bank in the Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

The population of Milan began to shrink during the late 1970s, so in the last 30 years almost one third of the total city population moved to the outer belt of new suburbs and small cities that grew around Milan proper. At the same time the city also attracted increasing levels of foreign immigration. Emblematic of the new phenomenon is the quick and great extension of a "Milanese Chinatown", a district in the area around Via Paolo Sarpi, Via Bramante, Via Messina and Via Rosmini, populated by Chinese immigrants from Zhejiang, one of today's most picturesque districts in the city. Milan is also home to one-third of all Filipinos in Italy, harbouring a sizeable and steadily growing population that numbers just over 33,000 with a birth rate averaging 1000 births a year.

In the 1980s, Milan's industry began to be extremely successful. As it became a major exporter of textiles and several clothing labels headquartered in the city began to become internationally renowned (such as Armani, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan began to be recognized internationally as a major fashion capital, and the traditionally affordable and practical, yet stylish and chic attire produced by the city's stylists made it a serious global competitor, threatening Paris' century-long status as the world capital ''haute couture'' or high-fashion. The city also saw a rise in the number of international tourists, notably from China, Japan or other Far-Eastern countries. This period of prosperity and the new international image of the city being a "capital of fashion" led many journalists to call the metropolis during the period ''"Milano da bere"'', literally "Milan to drink".

In the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a serious political scandal centered in the Palazzo delle Stelline complex, in which several politicians and businessmen were tried for alleged corruption. The city also underwent a financial crisis, and faced sluggish industrial growth, compared to that of the 1950s and 1980s. Despite this, Milan ripened its image as a fashion and design capital, with new labels such as Miu Miu setting up. By the late-1990s, Milan regained some slight industrial and economic stimulus to grow.

By the early 21st century, Milan's economy, which had been stagnant in the early-1990s, began to re-grow slightly again, yet this was short-lived and the city, despite having relieved itself from Tangentopoli's strain, fell into another economic recession and crisis. This period saw a rapid fall in Milan's industrial exports, and the Asian textile and clothing companies began to rival the still strong, yet declining Milanese fashion labels. However, Milan was able to maintain its strong economy, firstly by moving its Fiera (an exposition of products related to mainly industrial design) to a new establishment in Rho just outside the city, and the announcement in 2008 of the city hosting the Expo 2015 has brightened prospects for the city's future, with several new plans of regeneration and the planned construction of numerous avant-garde structures. Despite the decline in Milan's industrial production, the city has found alternative and successful sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, food production, information technology, logistics, transport and tourism. - although with some continental characteristics - similar to much of Northern Italy's inland plains, where hot, humid and very sultry summers and cold, wet winters prevail.

Average temperatures in city center are 37 F (3°C) in January with for the minimum and in July with average maximum of 86 F (30°C). Snowfalls are relatively common during winter but with few days with snow. The historic average of Milan's area of 8,2 (21 cm)in the period between 1950 and 2007; with a record of 27,5 in (70 cm) during the famous snowfall of January 1985. Humidity is quite high during the whole year and annual precipitation averages about 1000 mm (40 in). The ventilation is poor throughout the year and this increases the rate of pollution. In the stereotypical image, the city is often shrouded in the heavy fog characteristic of cold seasons in the Po Basin, although the removal of rice paddies from the southern neighbourhoods, the urban heat island effect and the reduction of pollution from factories have reduced this phenomenon in recent years, at least in the city centre but the pollution is still very high. Wind is generally absent. In spring, though, gale-force windstorms can happen, generated either by Tramontana blowing from the Alps or by Bora-like winds from northeast.

Main sights

Architecture

There are few remains of the ancient Roman colony that later became a capital of the Western Roman Empire. During the second half of the 4th century, Saint Ambrose, as bishop of Milan, had a strong influence on the layout of the city, redesigning the centre (although the cathedral and baptistery built at this time are now lost) and building the great basilicas at the city gates: Sant'Ambrogio, San Nazaro in Brolo, San Simpliciano and Sant'Eustorgio, which still stand, refurbished over the centuries, as some of the finest and most important churches in Milan. The largest and most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy, the Milan Cathedral, is the fourth largest cathedral in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Cathedral of Seville and a new cathedral in the Ivory Coast. The political alliance between Francesco Sforza and the Florence of Cosimo de’ Medici bore architectural fruit, as Milanese building came under the influence of Brunelleschian models of Renaissance architecture. The first notable buildings to show this Tuscan influence were a palazzo built to house the Medici Bank (of which only the main entrance survives) and the centrally planned Portinari Chapel, attached to Sant’Eustorgio and built for the first manager of the bank’s Milan branch. Filarete, while in Milan, was responsible for the great public hospital known as the Ospedale Maggiore, and also for an influential ''Treatise on Architecture'', which included a plan for a star-shaped ideal city called Sforzinda in honour of Francesco Sforza and passionately argued for the centrally planned form. Leonardo da Vinci, who was in Milan from around 1482 until the fall of the city to the French in 1499, was commissioned in 1487 to design a ''tiburio'', or crossing tower for the cathedral, although he was not chosen to build it. However the enthusiasm he shared with Filarete for the centrally planned building gave rise in this period to numerous architectural drawings [pictured] which were influential in the work of Donato Bramante and others. Bramante’s work in the city, which included Santa Maria presso San Satiro (a reconstruction of a small 9th-century church), the beautiful luminous tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie and three cloisters for Sant’Ambrogio, drew also on his studies of the Early Christian architecture of Milan such as the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

The Counter-Reformation was also the period of Spanish domination and was marked by two powerful figures: Saint Charles Borromeo and his cousin, Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Not only did they impose themselves as moral guides to the people of Milan, but they also gave a great impulse to culture, with the creation of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, in a building designed by Francesco Maria Ricchino, and the nearby Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. Many beautiful churches and Baroque mansions were built in the city during this period by the architects, Pellegrino Tibaldi, Galeazzo Alessi and Ricchino himself.

Empress Maria Theresa of Austria was responsible for the significant renovations carried out in Milan during the 18th century. She instigated profound social and civil reforms, as well as the construction of many of the buildings that still today constitute the pride of the city, like the Teatro alla Scala, inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and today one of the world's most famous opera houses. The annexed Museo Teatrale alla Scala contains a collection of paintings, drafts, statues, costumes, and other documents regarding opera and La Scala's history. La Scala also hosts the Ballet School of the Teatro alla Scala. The Austrian sovereign also promoted culture in Milan through projects such as converting the ancient Jesuit College, in the district of Brera, into a scientific and cultural centre with a Library, an astronomic observatory and the botanical gardens, in which the Art Gallery and the Academy of Fine Arts are today placed side by side. Milan was also widely affected by the Neoclassical movement in the late-18th and early-19th centuries, transforming its architectural style.

Napoleon Bonaparte's rule of the city in the early 19th century produced several fine Neoclassical edifices and palaces, including the Villa Reale, or often called the Villa del Belgiojoso (not related to the Palazzo Begiojoso). It is situated on Via Palestro and near to the Giardini Pubblici and it was constructed by Leopoldo Pollak in 1790. It housed the Bonaparte family, mainly Josephine Bonaparte, but also several others, such as Count Joseph Radetzky von Radetz and Eugène de Beauharnais. It is often regarded as one of the best types of Neoclassical architecture in Milan and Lombardy and is surrounded by an English landscape garden. Today, it hosts the Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea (English: ''Gallery of Contemporary Art'') and it is lavishly decorated inside with ornate classical columns, vast halls, marble statues and crystal chandeliers. The Palazzo Belgiojoso was also a grand Napoleonic residence and one of the finest examples of Milanese Neoclassical architecture. thumb|right|Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: interior view.There are also several other important Neoclassical monuments in the city include the ''Arco della Pace'' or the Arch of Peace, sometimes called the ''Arco Sempione'' (Sempione Arch) and is situated in Piazza Sempione right at the end of the Parco Sempione. It is often compared to a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The work on the arch began in 1806 under Napoleon I and it was designed by Luigi Cagnola. Just like with the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon's 1826 defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, halted the construction of the monumental arch, but Emperor Franz Josef (Francis Joseph) I of Austria ordered it to be completed, also as an honour to the Vienna Congress and peace treaty of 1815. It was completed by Francesco Peverelli on 10 September 1838. Another noted Neoclassic building in the city is the Palazzo del Governo, constructed in 1817 by Piero Gilardoni.

In the second half of the 19th century, Milan assumed the status of main industrial city of the peninsula and drew inspiration from other European capitals, center of those technological innovations that constituted the symbol of the second industrial revolution and, consequently, of the great social change that had been put in motion. The great Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a covered passage that connects Piazza del Duomo, Milan to the square opposite of La Scala, was built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877 to celebrate Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy. The passage is covered over by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for 19th-century arcades, such as the Burlington Arcade, London, which was the prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels and the Passazh in St Petersburg. Another late-19th century eclectic monument in the city is the Cimitero Monumentale (literally, "''Monumental Cemetery'' or ''graveyard''"), which is found in the Stazione district of the city and was built in a Neo-Romanesque style by several architects from 1863 to 1866.

The tumultuous period of the 20th century also brought several innovations in architecture. A form of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Fascist style is seen for the monumental city's Central Station (Stazione Centrale). The post–World War II period of reconstruction saw rapid economic growth that was accompanied by an increase in the population and the founding of new districts, but also for the strong drive for architectural renewal, has produced some of the milestones in the city’s architectural history including Gio Ponti’s Pirelli Tower (1956–60), the Velasca Tower (1956–58), the creation of new residential districts and, in recent years, the construction of the new exhibition centre in Rho and the urban renewal of once industrial areas, that have been transformed into modern residential districts and services.

Parks and gardens

Despite the fact that Milan has a very small amount of green space in comparison to other cities of the same size, the city does boast a wide variety of parks and gardens. The first public parks were established 1857 and 1862, and were designed by Giuseppe Balzaretto. They were situated in a "green park district", found in the areas of Piazzale Oberdan (Porta Venezia), Corso Venezia, Via Palestro and Via Manin. Most of them were landscaped in a Neoclassical style and represented traditional English gardens, often full of botanic richness. Since 1990 Milan is surrounded by the regional Parco Agricolo Sud Milano that wraps the southern half of the city, connecting Ticino Park in the west and Adda Park in the east. The Park was instituted in order to safeguard and enhance the old agricultural landscape and activities, woodlands and natural reserves, with an overall size of 47,000 hectares.

The most important parks in Milan are the set of adjacent parks in the western area of the city forming Parco Agricolo Sud Milano (Parco delle Cave, 131 hectares; Boscoincittà, 110 hectares; and Trenno Park, 59 hectares, whose total area amounts to about 300 hectares), Sempione Park, Parco Forlanini, Giardini Pubblici, Giardino della Villa Comunale, Giardini della Guastalla and Lambro Park. Sempione Park is a large public park, situated between the Castello Sforzesco and the Peace Arch, near Piazza Sempione. It was built by Emilio Alemagna, and contains a Napoleonic Arena, the Milan City Aquarium, a tower, an art exhibition centre, some ponds and a library. Then there is Parco Forlani, which, with a size of 235 hectares is the largest park in Milan, and contains a hill and a pond. Giardini Pubblici is among Milan's oldest remaining public parks, founded on 29 November 1783, and completed around 1790. It is landscaped in English style, containing a pond, a Natural History Museum of Milan and the Neoclassical Villa Reale. Giardini della Guastalla is also one of the oldest gardens in Milan, and consists mainly of a decorated fish pond.

Milan also hosts three important botanical gardens: the Milan University Experimental Botanical Garden (a small botanical garden operated by the Istituto di Scienze Botaniche), the Brera Botanical Garden (another botanical garden, founded in 1774 by Fulgenzio Witman, an abbot under the orders of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and restored in 1998 after several years of abandonment) and the Cascina Rosa Botanical Garden. On January 23, 2003 a Garden of the Righteous was established in Monte Stella to commemorate those who opposed genocides and crimes against humankind. It hosts trees dedicated to Moshe Bejski, Andrei Sakharov, the founders of the Gardens of the Righteous in Yerevan and Pietro Kuciukian, and others. The decision to commemorate a "Righteous" person in this Garden is made every year by a commission of high-profile characters.

Demographics

The city proper has a population of 1,324,110 inhabitants as of December 2010. Since the population peaked in 1971, the city proper has lost almost one third of its population, mostly due to suburban sprawl subsequent to the deindustrialization process of the last three decades. The population of Milan, like many western cities, is characterized by low fertility rates, low crude birth rates and rapid ageing: in 2009, only 12.6% of the resident population was under 14, while 30.1% was over 60.

Immigration

After the end of World War II, Milan witnessed two main waves of mass immigration: the first, dating from the 1950s to the 1970s, and mainly composed of immigrants from poorer areas of Italy; the second, starting from the 1980s, and composed of immigrants from outside Italy.

The first migration wave coincided with the so called Italian economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, a period of extraordinary growth based on classic industry and public works expansion, that brought to the city an immense flow of over 400,000 people mainly from rural areas of Southern Italy. The second immigration wave, that occurred starting from the 1980s and grew stronger after the fall of the Berlin Wall, was mainly composed of foreign-born immigrants from (North Africa), Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and from (Sub-Saharan Africa) Eritrea, Senegal, and Ivory Coast) after 1989, from the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe and from China. In the early 1990s, Milan already had a population of foreign-born immigrants of 58,000 (or 4% of the then population), that eventually became over 117,000 by the end of the decade (about 9% of the hen population). At the end of 2009, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that about 200,000 foreign-born immigrants lived in Milan, representing 15% of the total resident population, while more than 400,000 lived in the urban area.

In addition, Milan hosts the oldest and largest Chinese community in Italy, with about 17,000 people in 2010. Situated in the 9th district, and centered on Via Paolo Sarpi, an important commercial avenue, the Milanese Chinatown was originally established in the 1920s by immigrants from Wencheng County, in the Zhejiang province, and used to operate small textile and leather workshops. Today, the area is famous for its hairdressing salons, oriental fashion boutiques, silk and leather stores, wholesales, and Chinese restaurants. Its multi-ethnical heritage makes the street one of Milan's most cosmopolitan and colourful, notably during the celebrations of Chinese New Year.

There is a substantial anglophone community living in Milan, and several English language publications to cater for them, such as Hello Milano, Where Milano and Easy Milano.

Economy

Milan is one of the world's major financial and business centres, and with a 2004 GDP of € 241.2 billion (US$ 312.3 billion), the Milan metropolitan area has the 4th highest GDPs in Europe: were it a country, it would rank as the twenty-eighth largest economy in the world, almost as large as the Austrian economy According to a study by the European Regional Economic Growth Index the city is the 57th city in Europe for its GDP growth, being surpassed by some other Italian cities such as Rome and Bologna, yet overcoming Florence. Milan has also been described as being the world's 20th best financial city, a far higher result than coming 25th in 2007, as the 10th best business city in Europe, overcoming Geneva, and falling behind Berlin, and as the 13th fastest improving European city, improving by 6%.

The city is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (the Borsa Italiana) and its hinterland is the largest industrial area in Italy. It was included in a list of ten "Alpha world cities" by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang of the Brookings Institution in the economic report "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'" (Key Findings, ), along with Madrid, Seoul, Moscow, Brussels, Toronto, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, and Chicago. In 2008, GaWC ranked the city as an Alpha+ global city, along with other metropoleis such as Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

In the late 12th century the arts flourished and the making of armours was the most important industry. This period saw the beginning of those irrigation works which still render the Lombard plain a fertile garden. The development of the wool trade subsequently gave the first impetus to the production of silk. As in Venice and Florence, the making of luxury goods was an industry of such importance that in the 16th century the city gave its name to the English word “''milaner''” or “''millaner''”, meaning fine wares like jewellery, cloth, hats and luxury apparel. By the 19th century, a later variant, “millinery”, had come to mean one who made or sold hats. The industrial revolution in Northern Europe gave a new prominence to the north area of Milan. It sat on the trade route for goods coming over the Alps, and built mills powered by water from the many rivers and streams. In the mid-19th century cheaper silk began to be imported from Asia and the pest phylloxera damaged silk and wine production. More land was subsequently given over to industrialisation. Textile production was followed by metal and mechanical and furniture manufacture.

Today Milan is a major centre for the production of textile and garments, automobiles (Alfa Romeo), chemicals, industrial tools, heavy machinery, book and music publishing. FieraMilano, the exhibition center, had a fair ground known as "''FieraMilanoCity''", which was dismantled, except for a few remarkable buildings (including the cycle sports stadium, built in the '20s), to be house for an urban development, CityLife, exploiting its vicinity to the city centre. The new fair ground, in the north-western suburb of Rho, which was opened in April 2005, makes the Fiera Milano the largest trade fair complex in the world. Workers in Milan have the highest average incomes in Italy: €30,009. The city, by the total income, comes second in Italy, after Rome, with €29,825,439,714. In worldwide terms, Milan's workers have the 26th highest gross earnings, four places up from 2008 in which it was 30th. In such a way, Milan has overcome cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, yet still falls behind Montreal and Toronto. According to a study by Mercer, Milan is the 41st best world city in terms of quality of life, coming after London and Kobe, and overtaking Portland, Oregon and Barcelona.

Milan and the future

Milan is undergoing a wide urban renewal. Construction projects are under way to rehabilitate disused industrial areas on the periphery. The schemes include the addition to the Teatro alla Scala; the CityLife project in the old trade exhibition site; the new quarter Santa Giulia; and the Porta Nuova project in the Garibaldi-Repubblica zone. Many famous architects participate, such as Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Massimiliano Fuksas and Daniel Libeskind. The tasks will change the skyline of Milan, which would no longer be dominated by the Duomo and the Pirelli Tower. Milan will host Expo 2015 as a renewed city in the wake of this modernization.

Culture

Entertainment and performing arts

Milan is a major nation-wide and international centre of the performing arts, most notably opera. Milan hosts La Scala operahouse, considered one of the most prestigious operahouses in the world, and throughout history has hosted the premieres of numerous operas, such as ''Nabucco'' by Giuseppe Verdi in 1842, ''La Gioconda'' by Amilcare Ponchielli, ''Madama Butterfly'' by Giacomo Puccini in 1904, ''Turandot'' by Giacomo Puccini in 1926, and more recently ''Teneke'', by Fabio Vacchi in 2007. Other major theatres in Milan include the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Teatro Dal Verme, Teatro Lirico (Milan) and formerly the Teatro Regio Ducal. The city also has a renownded symphony orchestra and musical conservatory, and has been, throughout history, a major centre for musical composition: numerous famous composers and musicians such as Gioseppe Caimo, Simon Boyleau, Hoste da Reggio, Verdi, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Paolo Cherici and Alice Edun are or were from, or call or called Milan their home. The city has also formed numerous modern ensembles and bands, such as the Dynamis Ensemble, Stormy Six and the Camerata Mediolanense have been formed.

Tourism

Milan is one of the European Union's most important tourist destinations, also being the 7th best city in Europe in terms of touristic reputation, attractions and branding; with 1.902 million arrivals in 2007 and 1.914 million in 2008, it places itself 42nd and 52nd respectively, most visited city in the world. According to a particular source, 56% of international visitors to Milan are from Europe, whilst 44% of the city's tourists are Italian, and 56% are from abroad. The most important European Union markets are the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%) and France (6%). According to the same study, most of the visitors who come from the USA to the city go on business matters, whilst Chinese and Japanese tourists mainly take up the leisure segment. The average stay for a tourist in the city is of 3.43 nights, whilst foreigners stay for longer periods of time, 77% of which stay for a 2–5 night average. Of the 75% of visitors which stay in hotels, 4-star ones are the most popular (47%), whilst 5-stars, or less than 3-stars represent 11% and 15% of the charts respectively. thumb|right|150px|Armour of [[Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta|Sigismondo Malatesta, ca. 1460-65.]] The city contains several cultural institutions, museums and galleries, some of which are highly important at an international level, such as the city's Duomo and Piazza, the Convent of Sta. Maria delle Grazie with Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, the San Siro Stadium, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Castello Sforzesco, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Via Monte Napoleone. Most tourists visit sights such as Milan Cathedral, the Castello Sforzesco and the Teatro alla Scala, however, other main sights such as the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, the Navigli and the Brera Academy and district are less visited and prove to be less popular.

The Pinacoteca di Brera is one of Milan's most important art galleries. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, an outgrowth of the cultural program of the Brera Academy, which shares the site in the Brera Academy. It contains masterpieces such as the ''Brera Madonna'' by Piero della Francesca. The Castello Sforzesco hosts numerous art collections and exhibitions. The best known of the current civic museums is the Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, with an art collection which includes Michelangelo's last sculpture, the ''Rondanini Pietà'', Andrea Mantegna's ''Trivulzio Madonna'' and Leonardo da Vinci's ''Codex Trivulzianus'' manuscript. The Castello complex also includes The Museum of Ancient Art, The Furniture Museum, The Museum of Musical Instruments and the Applied Arts Collection, The Egyptian and Prehistoric sections of the Archaeological Museum and the Achille Bertarelli Print Collection.

Milan's figurative art flourished in the Middle-Ages, and with the Visconti family being major patrons of the arts, the city became an important centre of Gothic art and architecture (Milan Cathedral being the city's most formidable work of Gothic architecture). Also, rule of the Sforza family, between the 14th and 15th century, was another period in which art and architecture flourished. Milan became the seat of an elegant Renaissance court, while great works, such as the Ospedale Maggiore, the public hospital designed by Filarete were built, and artists of the calibre of Leonardo da Vinci came to work in Milan, leaving works of inestimable value, such as the fresco of the Last Supper and the Codex Atlanticus. thumb|right|250px|[[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo's '' The Last Supper''.]] Bramante also came to Milan to work on the construction of some of the most beautiful churches in the city; in Santa Maria delle Grazie the beautiful luminous tribune is by Bramante, as is the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro.

The city was affected by the Baroque in the 17th and 18th centuries, and hosted numerous formidable artists, architects and painters of that period, such as Caravaggio and Francesco Hayez, which several important works are hosted in Brera Academy.

Milan in the 20th century was the epicenter of the Futurist artistic movement. Filippo Marinetti, the founder of Italian Futurism wrote in his 1909 "''Futurist Manifesto''" (in Italian, ''Manifesto Futuristico''), that Milan was "''grande...tradizionale e futurista''" ("''grand...traditional and futuristic''", in English). Umberto Boccioni was also an important Futurism artist who worked in the city. Today, Milan remains a major international hub of modern and contemporary art, with numerous modern exhibitions.

The Museo Poldi Pezzoli is another of the city's most important and prestigious museums. The museum was originated in the 19th century as the private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and his mother, Rosa Trivulzio, of the family of the condottiero Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, and has a particularly broad collection of Northern Italian and (for Italy) Netherlandish/Flemish artists. The Museum of the Risorgimento (''Museo del Risorgimento'') is a museum in Milan on the history of Italian unification from 1796 (Napoleon's first Italian campaign) and 1870 (Rome's annexation into the Kingdom of Italy) and on Milan's part in it (particularly the Five Days of Milan). It is housed in the 18th century Palazzo Moriggia. Its collections include Baldassare Verazzi's ''Episode from the Five Days'' and Francesco Hayez's 1840 ''Portrait of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria''. La Triennale di Milano is a design museum and events venue located inside the Palace of Art building, part of Parco Sempione, the park grounds adjacent to Castello Sforzesco. It hosts exhibitions and events which highlight contemporary Italian design, urban planning, architecture, music, and media arts, emphasizing the relationship between art and industry.

Fashion and design

Milan is regarded as one of the international capitals of industrial and modern design, and one of the world's most influential cities in such fields. The city is particularly well known for its high-quality ancient and modern furniture and industrial goods. Milan hosts the FieraMilano, Europe's biggest, and one of the world's most prestigious furniture and design fairs. Milan also hosts major design and architecture-related events and venues, such as the "''Fuori Salone''" and the Salone del Mobile. In the 1950s and 60s as well as early 70's, being the main industrial centre of Italy and one of mainland Europe's most progressive and dynamic cities, Milan became, along with Turin, Italy's capital of post-war design and architecture. Skyscrapers, such as the Pirelli Tower and the Torre Velasca were constructed, and artists such as Bruno Munari, Lucio Fontana, Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni, to name a few, either lived or worked in the city.

Milan is also regarded as one of the fashion capitals of the world, along with New York City, Paris, and London. The Global Language Monitor declared that in 2009 Milan was the top economic and media global capital of fashion, despite the fact it fell down to sixth place in 2010, and went up to fourth place in 2011. Most of the major Italian fashion brands, such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace, Prada, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, are currently headquartered in the city. Numerous international fashion labels also operate shops in Milan, including an Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store which has become a main consumer attraction. Furthermore, the city hosts the Milan Fashion Week twice a year, just like other international centres such as Paris, London, Tokyo, and New York. Milan's main upscale fashion district is the ''quadrilatero della moda'' (literally, "fashion quadrilateral"), where the city's most prestigious shopping streets (Via Monte Napoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Sant'Andrea, Via Manzoni and Corso Venezia) are held. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Piazza del Duomo, Via Dante and Corso Buenos Aires are other important shopping streets and squares. Mario Prada, founder of Prada was born here, helping to cultivate its position as a world fashion capital.

Cuisine

Like most cities in Italy, Milan and its surrounding area has its own regional cuisine, which, as it is typical for Lombard cuisines, uses more frequently rice than pasta, and features almost no tomato. Milanese cuisine includes "cotoletta alla milanese", a breaded veal (pork and turkey can be used) cutlet pan-fried in butter (which some claim to be of Austrian origin, as it is similar to Viennese "Wienerschnitzel", while others claim that the "Wienerschnitzel" derived from the "cotoletta alla milanese"). Other typical dishes are ''cassoeula'' (stewed pork rib chops and sausage with Savoy cabbage), ossobuco (stewed veal shank with a sauce called ''gremolata''), risotto alla milanese (with saffron and beef marrow), ''busecca'' (stewed tripe with beans), and ''brasato'' (stewed beef or pork with wine and potatoes). Season-related pastries include ''chiacchiere'' (flat fritters dusted with sugar) and ''tortelli'' (fried spherical cookies) for Carnival, ''colomba'' (glazed cake shaped as a dove) for Easter, ''pane dei morti'' ("Deads' Day bread", cookies aromatized with cinnamon) for All Soul's Day and panettone for Christmas. The ''salame milano'', a salami with a very fine grain, is widespread throughout Italy. The best known Milanese cheese is gorgonzola from the namesake town nearby, although today the major gorgonzola producers operate in Piedmont.

On addition to a unique cuisine, Milan has several world-renowned restaurants and cafés. Most of the more refined and upper-class restaurants are found in the historic centre, whilst the more traditional and popular ones are mainly located in the Brera and Navigli districts. Today, there is also a Nobu Japanese restaurant in Milan, which is located in Armani World in Via Manzoni and is regarded as being one of the trendiest restaurants in the city. One of the city's chicest cafés or ''pasticcerie'' is the Caffè Cova, an ancient Milanese coffeehouse founded in 1817 near the Teatro alla Scala, which has also opened franchises in Hong Kong. The Biffi Caffè and the Zucca in Galleria are also famous and historical ‘Caffès’ which are situated in Milan. Other restaurants in Milan include the Hotel Four Seasons restaurant, ‘La Briciola’, the Marino alla Scala and the Chandelier. Today, there is also a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and some new boutique-cafés, such as the Just Cavalli Café, owned by the luxury fashion goods brand Roberto Cavalli.

Language and literature

In the late 18th century, and throughout the 19th, Milan was an important centre for intellectual discussion and literary creativity. The Enlightenment found here a fertile ground. Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria, with his famous ''Dei delitti e delle pene'', and Count Pietro Verri, with the periodical ''Il Caffè'' were able to exert a considerable influence over the new middle-class culture, thanks also to an open-minded Austrian administration. In the first years of the 19th century, the ideals of the Romantic movement made their impact on the cultural life of the city and its major writers debated the primacy of Classical versus Romantic poetry. Here, too, Giuseppe Parini, and Ugo Foscolo published their most important works, and were admired by younger poets as masters of ethics, as well as of literary craftsmanship. Foscolo's poem ''Dei sepolcri'' was inspired by a Napoleonic law which—against the will of many of its inhabitants—was being extended to the city. n the third decade of the 19th century, Alessandro Manzoni wrote his novel ''I Promessi Sposi'', considered the manifesto of Italian Romanticism, which found in Milan its centre, and Carlo Porta wrote his poems in Western Lombard Language. The periodical ''Il Conciliatore'' published articles by Silvio Pellico, Giovanni Berchet, Ludovico di Breme, who were both Romantic in poetry and patriotic in politics. After the Unification of Italy in 1861, Milan lost its political importance; nevertheless it retained a sort of central position in cultural debates. New ideas and movements from other countries of Europe were accepted and discussed: thus Realism and Naturalism gave birth to an Italian movement, ''Verismo''. The greatest ''verista'' novelist, Giovanni Verga, was born in Sicily but wrote his most important books in Milan.

In addition to Italian, approximately a third of the population of western Lombardy can speak the Western Lombard language, also known as Insubric. In Milan, some people (mostly elder ones) of the city (natives but also, less often, immigrants) can speak the traditional Milanese language —that is to say the urban variety of Western Lombard, which is not to be confused with the Milanese-influenced regional variety of the Italian language.

Religion

Milan's population, like that of Italy as a whole, is mostly Catholic. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan. Other religions practised include: Orthodox Churches, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Protestantism. Milan has its own historic Catholic rite known as the Ambrosian Rite (Italian: ''Rito ambrosiano''). It varies slightly from the typical Catholic rite (the ''Roman'', used in all other western regions), with some differences in the liturgy and mass celebrations, in the Canons ar Easter and Lent, in the colour of liturgical vestments, peculiar use of incense, marriage form, office for the dead, baptism by immersion, and in the calendar (for example, the date for the beginning of lent is celebrated some days after the common date, so the carnival has different date). The season of Advent is of six weeks duration and starts on the Sunday after the feast of Saint Martin (11 November). The Ambrosian rite is also practised in other surrounding locations in Lombardy, parts of Piedmont and in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The sounding of church bells uses a peculiar technique. Another important difference concerns the liturgical music. The Gregorian chant was completely unused in Milan and surrounding areas, because the official one was its own Ambrosian chant, definitively established by the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and earlier than the Gregorian. To preserve this music there has developed the unique ''schola cantorum'', a college, and an Institute called PIAMS (Pontifical Ambrosian Institute of Sacred Music), in partnership with the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (PIMS) in Rome.

Sports

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Italy, and Milan is home to two world-famous football teams: F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) and A.C. Milan. The latter is normally referred to as "Mìlan" (notice the stress on the first syllable, unlike the English and Milanese name of the city), the former as "Inter". A match between these two teams is known as the Milan derby or the Derby della Madonnina (in honour of one of the main sights of the city, a statue of the Virgin Mary "Madonnina" on top of the Duomo di Milano). Milan is the only city in Europe who hosts two European Cup/Champions League winning teams (A.C. Milan and Internazionale), and both teams have also won the Intercontinental Cup (now FIFA Club World Cup). With a combined ten Champions League titles, Milan has won more European Cups than any other city. Both teams play at the UEFA 5-star rated Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, more commonly known as the San Siro, that is one of the biggest stadiums in Europe, with a seating capacity of over 80,000.

The world famous Monza Formula One circuit is located near the city, inside a wide park. It is one of the world's oldest car racing circuits. The capacity for the F1 races is currently around 137,000 spectators, although in the 1950s the stands could hold more than 250,000. It has hosted an F1 race nearly every year since the first year of competition, with the exception of 1980.

Milan is home to the Italy's most successful basketball team Olimpia Milano. They have won 25 Italian Championships as well as 3 European Champions Cups. They play at the Mediolanum Forum which houses 12,000 spectators.

The city hosted, among other sport events, the FIFA World Cup in 1934 and 1990, the UEFA European Football Championship in 1980; most recently the 2003 World Rowing Championships, the 2009 World Boxing Championships and some games of the FIVB World Championship in 2010.

Education

Milan's higher education system comprises 39 university centres (44 faculties, 174,000 new students a year, equal to 10% of the entire Italian university population), and has the largest number of university graduates and postgraduate students (34,000 and more than 5,000, respectively) in Italy.

Founded on November 29, 1863, the Politecnico di Milano is the oldest university in Milan. Its most eminent professors over the years have included the mathematician Francesco Brioschi (its first Director), Luigi Cremona, and Giulio Natta (Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963). The Politecnico di Milano is nowadays organised in 16 departments and a network of 9 Schools of Engineering, Architecture and Industrial Design spread over 7 campuses over the Lombardy region with a central administration and management. The 9 schools are devoted to education whereas the 16 departments are devoted to research. The number of students enrolled in all campuses is approximately 40,000, which makes Politecnico di Milano the largest technical university in Italy.

The University of Milan was founded on September 30, 1923 and it's a public teaching and research university, which – with 9 faculties, 58 departments, 48 institutes and a teaching staff of 2,500 professors. A leading institute in Italy and Europe for scientific productivity, the University of Milan is the largest university in the region, with approximately 65,000 enrolled students; it is also an important resource for the socio-economic context of which it is a part.

The University of Milan Bicocca was instituted on June 10, 1998 to serve students from Northern Italy and take some pressure off the historical University of Milan which was getting over-crowded. It is set on an area, called Bicocca, in the northern part of Milan which was the kernel of its past industrial activity with a lot of the largest Italian factories in steel processing, chemical manufacturing, and electro-mechanics. In the faculty of science non-traditional degrees, from B.Sc. to Ph.D., in materials science, biotechnology and environmental science are coupled to the conventional ones in physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, computation and earth science. At the present the whole University hosts more than 30,000 students.

The Luigi Bocconi Commercial University, established in 1902, has been ranked among the top 20 best business schools in the world by The Wall Street Journal international rankings, especially thanks to its M.B.A. program, which in 2007 placed it no. 17 in the world in terms of graduate recruitment preference by major multinational companies. Forbes has ranked Bocconi no.1 worldwide in the specific category Value for Money. In May 2008, Bocconi overtook several traditionally top global business schools in the Financial Times Executive education ranking, reaching no. 5 in Europe and no. 15 in the world.

The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, founded in 1921 by Father Agostino Gemelli, is currently the biggest Catholic university in the world with almost 42,000 enrolled students.

The University of Languages and Communication of Milan, founded in 1968, is specialized in consumer and services research, business communication and ICT, tourism, fashion, cultural heritage and its exploitation, foreign languages for business, economics, marketing and distribution. The two campuses of Milan and Feltre have almost 10,000 enrolled students.

The Saint Raphael University was fundamentally born as an off-spring of the research hospital structure St. Raphael Hospital, where students attend basic research laboratories in many research fields, including neurology, neurosurgery, diabetology, molecular biology, AIDS studies among others. It has expanded since then to include research fields in cognitive science and philosophy.

The Tethys Research Institute, established in 1996, is a private non-profit organization specialised in cetacean research. Tethys has generated one of the largest datasets on Mediterranean cetaceans and over 300 scientific contributions. Tethys owns photographic archives exceeding 200,000 cetacean images, that have resulted in the identification of over 1,300 individuals of seven Mediterranean species. This expertise has granted to Tethys a role as regional coordinator in the former EC-funded project “Europhlukes”.

The Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, regarded as one of the world’s leading academic institutions, is a public academic institution dedicated to teach and research within the creative art, (painting, sculpting, graphics, photo, video etc.) and cultural historical disciplines. It is the academic institution with the highest rate of internationalization in Italy with about 3,500 students including over 850 foreigners from 49 nations. In 2005 the teaching of the academy has been classified by UNESCO as "A5".

The New Academy of Fine Arts of Milan, founded in 1980, is a private academy that offers Bachelor and Master of Arts Degree Programs, Academic Master Programs, Diploma Program and Semester Abroad Programs held in English that are accredited by the US University System in the fields of Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Design, Fashion, Media Design and Theatre Design. Over 1,000 students coming from all over Italy and 40 different countries are currently studying at the academy.

The European Institute of Design is a private university specialized in fashion, industrial and interior design, audio/visual design including photography, advertising and marketing and business communication. The school was founded in 1966 today enrolls over 8,000 students.

The Marangoni Institute is a fashion institute with campuses in Milan, London, and Paris. Founded in 1935, it prepares highly skilled professionals for the fashion and design industries.

The Domus Academy (DA) is a private postgraduate institution that offers a series of professional masters degrees in various design-oriented or design-based fields such as industrial design, fashion management, urban management and architecture, business design, interaction design, etc. Founded in 1982 by such Milanese design luminaries such as Gianfranco Ferre and Andrea Branzi, DA now attracts students from all over the world interested in the interplay amongst research, design, and management.

The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807, when the city was the capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premisses in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders, including students of both sexes. With more than 1,700 students, over 240 teachers and 20 majors, it is Italy's largest university of music.

Transportation

Milan is one of Italy's Railway hubs, five major stations of Milan, amongst which the Milan Central station, are among Italy's busiest. The first railroad built in Milan, the Milan and Monza Rail Road was opened for service on August 17, 1840.

Since December 16, 2009 two High speed train lines with trains running over 300 kmh (186 mph) link Milan to Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples and Salerno in one direction, and to Turin in another. High Speed Rail connects Milan to Turin in 45m, Bologna in 1h, Florence in 1h 40m, Rome in 2h 55m, Naples in 4h and Salerno in 4h 25m.

The Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM) operates within the metropolitan area, managing a public transport network consisting of three metropolitan railway lines and tram, trolley-bus and bus lines. The ATM tramway fleet includes several Peter Witt cars, originally built in 1928 and still working. Overall the network covers nearly 1,400 km reaching 86 municipalities. Besides public transport, ATM manages the interchange parking lots and the on-street parking spaces in the historical centre and in the commercial zones using the SostaMilano parking card system.

Milan Metro is the Rapid transit system serving the city with 3 lines and a total length of more than 80 km. One more line is under construction.

The Suburban Railway Service Lines, composed of ten suburban lines connects the Milan agglomeration to the metropolitan area. More lines will be opening in late 2011.

The Regional, Intercity, Eurostarcity and Eurocity Railway Services, link Milan with the rest of Lombardy, Italy's national railway system and Europe.

The city tram network consists of approximately of track and 17 lines. Bus lines cover over 1,070 km.

Milan has a taxi service operated by private companies and licensed by the City of Milan (''Comune di Milano''). All taxis are the same color, white. Prices are based on a set fare at the beginning and an additional fare based on time elapsed and distance traveled. The number of licences is kept low by lobbying of present taxi drivers.

The city of Milan is served by three international airports. The Malpensa International Airport, the second biggest airport in Italy, is about 45 km from central Milan and connected to downtown Cadorna FN Railway Station and Milan's Centrale FS Main Railway Station with the "''Malpensa Express''" railway service running every 15 minutes and with the Suburban S10 Line. Malpensa Airport handled 18,947,808 passengers in 2010. The Linate Airport, which is near the city limits, connected to downtown with the Bus Express Line X73 and Bus Line 73 and to Centrale FS Main Railway Station with ATM Shuttle Bus Services, is mainly used for domestic and short-haul international flights, with over 9 million passengers in 2010. The airport of Orio al Serio, near to the city of Bergamo, serves the low-cost traffic of Milan, with 7,160,008 passengers in 2009. It is connected with Shuttle Bus Services from Milan's Main Central Station.

International relations

Twin towns—Sister cities

Milan is twinned with:

* Arequipa, Peru

* Mashhad, Iran

* Birmingham, United Kingdom

* Bogotá, Colombia

Pereira, Colombia>Pereira, Colombia

* Dakar, Senegal, since 1974

Frankfurt am Main>Frankfurt, Germany, since 1969

Guadalajara, Jalisco>Guadalajara, Mexico

Bethlehem, Palestinian National Authority>Palestinian Authority, since 2000

* Kraków, Poland, since 2003

* Lyon, France, since 1967

* Melbourne, Australia, since 2004

Osaka, Japan, since 1981

* Tecomán, México

* Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 1961

* São Paulo, Brazil, since 1961

* Maceió, Brazil

Shanghai, People's Republic of China>China, since 1979

* Tel Aviv, Israel, since 1997

* Toronto, Canada, since 2003

* Chicago, United States, since 1962

* Izmir, Turkey

* Nicosia, Cyprus

* Daegu in South Korea, since 1998

Other forms of cooperation, partnership and city friendship

	* Amman, Jordan	* Bangkok, Thailand	* Belgrade, Serbia	* Belo Horizonte, Brazil	* Buenos Aires, Argentina		Medellín, Colombia	* Minsk, Belarus	* Montreal, Canada	* Sofia, Bulgaria

References

Bibliography

Acts of international convention "Milan Capital"), Convegno archeologico internazionale Milano capitale dell'impero romano 1990; Milano Altri autori: Sena Chiesa, Gemma Arslan, Ermanno A.

Agostino a Milano: ''il battesimo'' – Agostino nelle terre di Ambrogio: 22–24 aprile 1987 / (relazioni di) Marta Sordi (et al.) Augustinus publ.

Anselmo, Conte di Rosate: istoria milanese al tempo del Barbarossa / Pietro Beneventi, Europia publ.

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire (Edward Gibbon)

The later Roman empire (Jones), Blackwell and Mott, Oxford

Milano romana / Mario Mirabella Roberti (Rusconi publisher) 1984

Marchesi, i percorsi della Storia Minerva Italica (It)

Milano tra l'eta repubblicana e l'eta augustea: atti del Convegno di studi, 26–27 marzo 1999, Milano

Milano capitale dell'impero romano: 286–402 d.c.–(Milano) : Silvana, (1990).–533 p.: ill. ; 28 cm.

Milano capitale dell'Impero romano: 286–402 d.c. – album storico archeologico.–Milano: Cariplo: ET, 1991.–111 p.: ill; 47 cm. (Pubbl. in occasione della Mostra tenuta a Milano nel) 1990.

Notes

External links

ATM – Milan's Transportation Company

City of Milan – official Virtual Tour website

City of Milan – official website

Rete Metropolitana di Milano

The Milan Garden of the Righteous

Category:Populated places established in the 1st millennium BC

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playername	Lionel Messi
fullname	Lionel Andrés Messi
dateofbirth	June 24, 1987
cityofbirth	Rosario
countryofbirth	Argentina
height
position	Striker / Winger
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	10
youthyears1	1995–2000
youthyears2	2000–2004
youthclubs1	Newell's Old Boys
youthclubs2	Barcelona
years1	2004–2005
clubs1	Barcelona B
caps1	22
goals1	6
years2	2004–
clubs2	Barcelona
caps2	178
goals2	121
nationalyears1	2005
nationalyears2	2008
nationalyears3	2005–
nationalteam1	Argentina U20
nationalteam2	Argentina U23
nationalteam3	Argentina
nationalcaps1	7
nationalgoals1	6
nationalcaps2	5
nationalgoals2	2
nationalcaps3	60
nationalgoals3	17
medaltemplates	}}

| pcupdate = 13:30, 7 July 2011 (UTC) | ntupdate = 10:17, 17 July 2011 (UTC) }} Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina) is a football player who currently plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team as a striker or winger. Considered one of the best football players of his generation, Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke his team record for the youngest footballer to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Messi then had the most successful season of his playing career, the 2008–09 season, in which he scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign. This record-breaking season was then eclipsed in the following 2009–10 campaign, where Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo's record total for Barcelona. He surpassed this record again in the 2010–11 season with 53 goals in all competitions.

Messi has won five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, scoring in two of those finals, against Manchester United in both 2009 and 2011. He was not on the pitch as Barcelona defeated Arsenal in 2006, but received a winners' medal from the tournament. After scoring 12 goals in the 2010–11 Champions League, Messi became only the third player (after Gerd Müller and Jean-Pierre Papin) to top-score in three successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. However, Messi is the first one to win the Champions League top scorer titles for three consecutive years after Champions League changed its format in 1992.

Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

Early life

Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, to parents Jorge Horacio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner. His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883. He has two older brothers named Rodrigo and Matías as well as a sister named María Sol. At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. The traditional River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for treatment for his condition which cost $900 a month. Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida, Catalonia, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial. Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin. Barcelona offered to pay for Messi's medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. Messi and his father moved to Barcelona where Messi enrolled in the club's youth academy.

Club career

Barcelona

Messi made his official debut for the first-team on 16 November 2003 aged 16 years and 145 days, in a friendly match against Porto. Less than a year later, Frank Rijkaard let him make his league debut against RCD Espanyol on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga. This record was broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, ten months and seven days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist. Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen."

2005–06 season

On 16 September, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract; this time it was improved to pay him as a first team member and extended until June 2014. Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005 and was finally able to make his debut in the season's Spanish First Division. Messi's first home outing in the Champions League came on 27 September against Italian club Udinese. Fans at Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou, gave Messi a standing ovation upon his substitution, as his composure on the ball and passing combinations with Ronaldinho had paid dividends for Barcelona.

Messi netted six goals in 17 league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. His season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, however, when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea. Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.

2006–07 season

In the 2006–07 season, Messi established himself as a regular first team player, scoring 14 times in 26 matches. On 12 November, in the game against Real Zaragoza, Messi suffered a broken metatarsal, ruling him out for three months. Messi recuperated from his injury in Argentina, and his return to action came against Racing Santander on 11 February, where he came on as a second-half substitute. On 11 March, ''El Clásico'' saw Messi in top form, scoring a hat-trick to earn 10-man Barcelona a 3–3 draw, equalising three times, with the final equaliser coming in injury time. In doing so he became the first player since Iván Zamorano (for Real Madrid in the 1994–95 season) to score a hat-trick in ''El Clásico''. Messi is also the youngest player ever to have scored in this fixture. Towards the end of the season he began finding the net more often; 11 of his 14 league goals for the season came from the last 13 games. Messi also proved the "new Maradona" tag was not all hype, by nearly replicating Maradona's most famous goals in the space of the single season. On 18 April 2007, he scored two goals during a Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe CF, one of which was very similar to Maradona's famous goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, known as the Goal of the Century. The world's sports press drew comparisons with Maradona, and the Spanish press labelled Messi as "Messidona". He ran about the same distance, , beat the same number of players (six, including the goalkeeper), scored from a very similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona did in Mexico 21 years before. In a press conference after the game, Messi's team-mate Deco said: "It was the best goal I have ever seen in my life." Against RCD Espanyol Messi also scored a goal which was remarkably similar to Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against England in the World Cup quarter-finals. Messi launched himself at the ball and connected with his hand to guide the ball past the goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. Despite protests by Espanyol players and replays showing it was clear handball, the goal stood.

2007–08 season

During the 2007–08 season, Messi scored five goals in a week leading Barcelona to the top four in La Liga. On 19 September he scored once as Barcelona defeated Lyon 3–0 at home in a Champions League match. He scored two goals against Sevilla FC on 22 September and then on 26 September, Messi scored another two goals in a 4–1 victory over Real Zaragoza. Next goal came in 4–1 away win against Levante UD in 29 September 2007. His second Champions League goal of the season came against VfB Stuttgart. On 27 February, Messi played in his 100th official match for Barcelona against Valencia.

Messi was nominated for a FIFPro World XI Player Award under the category of Forward. A poll conducted in the online edition of the Spanish newspaper ''Marca'' had him as the best player in the world with 77 percent of the vote. Columnists from Barcelona-based newspapers ''El Mundo Deportivo'' and ''Sport'' stated that the Ballon d'Or should be given to Messi, a view supported by Franz Beckenbauer. Football personalities such as Francesco Totti have declared that they consider Messi to be one of the current best footballers in the world.

Messi was sidelined for six weeks following an injury on 4 March when he suffered a muscle tear in his left thigh during a Champions League match against Celtic. It was the fourth time in three seasons that Messi suffered this type of injury. After coming back from the injury Messi scored his last goal of 2007–08 season against Valencia on 4 May 2008 in a 6–0 win. When the season was over Messi managed to score 16 goals and assisted 13 times in all competition.

2008–09 season

Upon Ronaldinho's departure from the club, Messi inherited his number 10 jersey. On 1 October 2008, during a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Messi scored two goals during the last seven minutes, after coming on as a substitute for Thierry Henry, to turn a 1–0 deficit to a 2–1 victory for Barcelona. The next league game was versus Atlético Madrid, a match billed as a friendly battle between Messi and his good friend Sergio Agüero. Messi scored a goal from a free kick and assisted another as Barça went on to win the match 6–1. Messi netted another impressive brace against Sevilla scoring a volley from and then dribbling round the goalkeeper and scoring from a tight angle for the other. On 13 December 2008, during the first Clásico of the season, Messi scored the second goal in Barcelona's 2–0 win over Real Madrid. He was also named second in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards with 678 points.

Messi scored his first hat-trick of 2009 in a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid which Barcelona won 3–1. Messi scored another important double on 1 February 2009, coming on as a second half substitute to help Barcelona defeat Racing Santander 1–2 after being 1–0 down. The second of the two strikes was Barcelona's 5000th league goal. In the 28th round of La Liga, Messi scored his 30th goal of the season in all competitions, helping his team to a 6–0 victory over Málaga CF in the process. On 8 April 2009, he scored twice against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, setting a personal record of eight goals in the competition. On 18 April, Messi notched his 20th league goal of the season in a 1–0 win at Getafe, allowing Barcelona to maintain their six-point advantage at the top of the league table over Real Madrid.

As Barcelona's season was drawing to a close, Messi scored twice (his 35th and 36th goals in all competitions) to cap a 6–2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in what was Real's heaviest defeat since 1930. After scoring each goal, he ran towards the fans and the cameras lifting up his Barcelona jersey and showing another T-shirt that read ''Síndrome X Fràgil'', Catalan for Fragile X Syndrome, to show his support for children who suffer from the affliction. Messi was involved in the build-up to Andrés Iniesta's injury time goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final to send Barcelona through to face Manchester United in the final. He won his first Copa del Rey on 13 May, scoring one goal and assisting another two, in a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao. He helped his team win the double by winning La Liga. On 27 May he helped Barcelona win the Champions League by scoring a second goal in the 70th minute giving Barcelona a two goal lead; he also became the top scorer in the Champions League, the youngest in the tournament's history, with nine goals. Messi also won the UEFA Club Forward of the Year: and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year rounding off a spectacular year in Europe. This victory meant Barcelona had won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in the one season, and was the first time a Spanish club had ever won the treble.

2009–10 season

After winning the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola asserted that Messi was probably the best player he had ever seen. On 18 September, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona, running until 2016 and with a buy-out clause of €250 million included, making Messi, along with Zlatan Ibrahimović, the highest paid players in La Liga, with earnings of around €9.5 million yearly. Four days later, on 22 September, Messi scored two goals and assisted another in Barça's 4–1 win over Racing Santander in La Liga. He scored his first European goal of the season on 29 September in a 2–0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, and then took his goal tally to six goals in seven games in La Liga with a strike during a 6–1 routing of Real Zaragoza at Camp Nou.

Messi was named winner of the 2009 Ballon d'Or on 1 December 2009, beating runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo by largest ever margin of 473 to 233. Afterwards, France Football magazine quoted Messi as saying: "I dedicate it to my family. They were always present when I needed them and sometimes felt even stronger emotions than me."

On 19 December, Messi scored the winner in the final of the 2009 Club World Cup against Estudiantes in Abu Dhabi, giving the club their sixth title of the year. Two days later, he was given the FIFA World Player of the Year award, beating Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Kaká and Andrés Iniesta to the award. This was the first time he had won the award, and he became the first Argentinean to ever receive this honour. On 10 January 2010, Messi scored his first hat-trick in 2010 and his first hat-trick of the season against CD Tenerife in the 0–5 victory, and on 17 January he scored his 100th goal for the club in the 4–0 victory over Sevilla.

Messi then started an impressive run scoring 11 goals in five games. First he scored on the 84th minute against Málaga for a 2–1 win, then he scored two goals against UD Almería in a 2–2 tie. He continued his spree with an impressive week where he scored eight goals; he started by scoring a hat-trick against Valencia CF in a 3–0 home win, then he scored two goals against Stuttgart, in a 4–0 win that secured Barcelona's qualification to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and finally he scored another hat-trick against Zaragoza in a 4–2 away win, becoming the first Barcelona player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in La Liga. He played his 200th official match for Barcelona against Osasuna on 24 March 2010.

On 6 April 2010, for the first time in Messi's career he scored four goals in a single match, netting the lot in a 4–1 home win over Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final second leg. This also saw him overtake Rivaldo as Barcelona's all time greatest scorer in the competition. On 10 April, Messi scored his 40th goal of the season when he netted the first goal in a 2–0 away win against title-rivals Real Madrid in El Clásico. On 1 May, Messi played his 50th game of the season and scored two goals on a 4–1 away win against Villarreal. Just three days later, on 4 May, Messi scored two goals in another 4–1 win at home against Tenerife. Messi scored his 32nd goal of the La Liga season on 8 May, during an away win against Sevilla, and in the final match against Valladolid, he scored two goals in the second half to tie Ronaldo's club record of 34 goals in a single league season, set in 1996–97, and to finish four goals behind the all-time record held by Telmo Zarra. He was named La Liga player of the year for the second year in a row on 3 June 2010.

2010–11 season

On 21 August 2010, Messi scored a hat-trick in his first start of the season in a 4–0 victory over Sevilla FC in the Supercopa de España, helping Barcelona secure their first trophy of the season after a 1–3 first leg loss. He also began his league season with a goal, scoring after just three minutes against Racing Santander on 29 August 2010. He then continued his excellent form into the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Panathinaikos where he scored two goals, assisted another two and also hit the frame of the goal on two separate occasions.

On 19 September 2010, Messi suffered an ankle injury due to an ill-advised tackle by Atlético Madrid defender Tomáš Ujfaluši in the 92nd minute of their Round 3 match at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. At first sight it was feared that Messi suffered a broken ankle that could have kept the star player away from the pitch for a minimum of six months, but MRI performed the next day in Barcelona showed he suffered a sprain in the internal and external ligaments of his right ankle. Team-mate David Villa stated "the tackle on Messi was brutal" after watching the video of the play and also added that he believed the Atlético defender "didn't go into the tackle to hurt". The incident caused widespread media attention and brought up the debate of equality in protecting all players in the game.

When Messi recovered he scored in a 1–1 tie against RCD Mallorca. He then scored another brace on the UEFA Champions League against København and helped the team to a 2–0 home win. He continued his impressive scoring run with braces against Zaragoza and Sevilla. After a prolific October, he started November scoring on an away 1–1 tie against København and an away 3–1 win against Getafe where he also assisted team-mates David Villa and Pedro Rodríguez. In the next fixture against Villarreal CF, he scored combining with Pedro, which gave Barcelona a 2–1 lead. He scored another goal and Barcelona won 3–1. This was the 7th consecutive match in which Messi scored, breaking his own previous record of 6. He also achieved the feat of scoring 50 goals in the calender year of 2010 with the 1st goal, while with the second goal, he achieved the same feat again, this time considering the goals he scored wearing a Barcelona shirt in 2010. Against Almería he scored his second hat-trick of the season in an impressive 8–0 away win, the second goal was his 100th La Liga goal. He scored on his ninth game in a row (10th including a friendly against Brazil) on a 3–0 away win against Panathinaikos. Messi's goalscoring run ended on 29 November at El Clásico but Barcelona still managed to win 5–0 with Messi assisting Villa twice. The next match day he scored a brace and gave an assist against Osasuna. He followed with another brace against Real Sociedad. In El Derbi, a match Barcelona won 1–5, he assisted teammates Pedro and Villa to score one goal each. His first goal in 2011 came against Deportivo La Coruña with a free kick on a 4–0 away win, where he once again assisted both Pedro and Villa.

Messi won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, beating his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Iniesta. Messi had been nominated for the awards for the fourth consecutive year. Only two days after he won the award he scored his first hat-trick of the year and third of the season against Real Betis. He began the second round of the league with a goal, scoring his second penalty against Racing Santander. After scoring the penalty kick, Messi revealed a message on his undershirt that said, "Happy birthday, mami.". He continued his goalscoring form with a brace against Almería in the Copa del Rey semifinal, and followed it up with another brace less than a week later against Hércules CF. On 5 February, Barcelona broke the record for most consecutive league wins with 16 victories after they defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to ensure the victory for his side and after the match he stated, "it's an honor to be able to pass a record set by a great like Di Stéfano" and "if the record has been around for so long is because it's very complicated to achieve and we have reached it by defeating a very difficult team who's going through a bad situation, which makes it even more difficult."

After two scoreless games he scored the winner against Athletic Bilbao in which Barcelona won 2–1. The next week he scored the first header of the season against Mallorca on a 3–0 away win. This victory was the equalising a La Liga record set by Basque club Real Sociedad in the 1979–80 campaign with a 19 unbeaten away matches. The record was broken after three days later when Messi scored the only goal on an away victory over Valencia. On 8 March, Messi scored two goals against Arsenal in a UEFA Champions League match at the Camp Nou, helping Barcelona win 3–1 and qualify to the quarter-finals of the competition. After failing to score for a month he scored a brace against Almería; the second goal was his 47th of the season, equalling his club record return of the previous season. He surpassed his record on 12 April 2011 by scoring the winner against Shakhtar Donetsk in a UEFA Champions League game, which put him in the record book as all time top scorer in a single season for Barcelona. He scored his eight goal on El Clásico on a 1–1 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 23 April, Messi scored his 50th goal of the season against Osasuna in a 2–0 home victory which he came on as a substitute in the 60th minute.

In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals he gave a memorable performance, scoring twice against Real Madrid in a 2–0 win, the second goal (a dribble past several players) being acclaimed as one of the best ever at that stage of the competition. At the Champions League Final at Wembley, Messi scored the eventual game-clinching goal to give Barcelona their third title in six years and fourth overall.

2011–12 season

Messi started the season in the 2011 Spanish Supercup, scoring three goals and giving two assists for a 5–4 aggregate win against Real Madrid. On his next official match he scored again after a weak back pass from Fredy Guarín and gave an assist to Cesc Fàbregas for a 2-0 win against Porto at the UEFA Super Cup. This was the only official competition where he hadn't score before.

International career

In June 2004, he debuted for Argentina, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay. In 2005 he was part of a team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. There, he won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe, scoring in the last four of Argentina's matches and netting a total of six for the tournament.

He made his full international debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary at the age of 18. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off on the 65th minute because the referee, Markus Merk, found he had headbutted defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi returned to the team on 3 September in Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short." He then started his first game for Argentina against Peru; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".

On 28 March 2009, in a World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number 10 jersey for the first time with Argentina. This match was the first official match for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won the match 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring.

On 17 November 2010, Messi scored a last-minute goal against South American rivals Brazil after an individual effort to help his team to a 1–0 win in the friendly match, which was held in Doha. This was the first time that he had scored against Brazil at senior level. Messi scored another last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against Portugal in a penalty kick which he give his side a 2–1 victory in the friendly match, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

2006 World Cup

The injury that kept Messi from playing for two months at the end of the 2005–06 season jeopardised his presence in the 2006 World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. He also played in the final match before the World Cup against the Argentine U-20 team for 15 minutes and a friendly match against Angola from the 64th minute. He witnessed Argentina's opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the substitute's bench. In the next match against Serbia and Montenegro, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6–0 victory, making him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Messi started in Argentina's following 0–0 draw against the Netherlands. In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied at 1–1. He appeared to score a goal, but it was ruled offside with Argentina needing a late goal in extra time to proceed. Coach José Pekerman left Messi on the bench during the quarter-final match against Germany, which they lost 4–2 on a penalty shootout.

2007 Copa América

Messi played his first game in the 2007 Copa América on 29 June 2007, when Argentina defeated United States 4–1 in the first game. In this game, he showed his capabilities as a playmaker. He set up a goal for fellow striker Hernán Crespo and had numerous shots on target. Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute and scored minutes later.

His second game was against Colombia, in which he won a penalty that Crespo converted to tie the game at 1–1. He also played a part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3–1. The final score of the game was 4–2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.

In the third game, against Paraguay the coach rested Messi having already qualified for the quarter-finals. He came off the bench in place of Esteban Cambiasso in the 64th minute, with the score at 0–0. In the 79th minute, he assisted a goal for Javier Mascherano. In the quarter-finals, as Argentina faced Peru, Messi scored the second goal of the game, from a Riquelme pass in a 4–0 win. During the semi-final match against Mexico, Messi scored a lob over Oswaldo Sánchez to see Argentina through to the final with a 3–0 win. Argentina went on to lose 3–0 to Brazil in the final.

2008 Summer Olympics

Having barred Messi from playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics, Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach Josep Guardiola. He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Ivory Coast. He then scored the opening goal and assisted Ángel di María in the second to help his side to a 2–1 extra-time win against the Netherlands. He also featured in Argentina's match against rivals Brazil, in which Argentina took a 3–0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In the gold medal match, Messi again assisted Di María for the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nigeria.

2010 World Cup

Messi played the entire game on Argentina's opening match in the 2010 World Cup, the 1–0 victory against Nigeria. He had several opportunities to score but was repeatedly denied by Vincent Enyeama. Messi started in Argentina's following 4–1 win against Korea Republic; he participated in all of the goals of his team and helped Gonzalo Higuaín score a hat-trick. On the third and last group stage match Messi captained during Argentina's 2–0 win over Greece, again being the centrepoint of Argentina's play and was voted man of the match.

At the Round of 16 he assisted Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against Mexico. The referee awarded that goal even though it was a clear offside. The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against Germany in the quarter-finals.

2011 Copa América

Messi took part in the Copa América in Argentina, where he failed to score a goal but notched three assists. He was selected man-of-the-match in matches against Bolivia (1–1) and Costa Rica (3–0). Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay (1–1 a.e.t.), with Messi scoring as the first penalty taker.

Outside football

Personal life

Messi was at one stage romantically linked to Macarena Lemos, also from his hometown of Rosario. He is said to have been introduced to her by the girl's father when he returned to Rosario to recover from his injury a few days before the start of the 2006 World Cup. He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar. In January 2009 he told "Hat Trick Barça", a programme on Canal 33: "I have a girlfriend and she is living in Argentina. I am relaxed and happy". He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo, at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.

Messi has two cousins also involved in football: Maxi, a winger for Club Olimpia of Paraguay, and Emanuel Biancucchi, who plays as a midfielder for Spain's Girona FC.

Charity

In 2007 Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children. In an fansite interview, Messi said: “Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children." In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation supports Argentine children diagnosed with medical conditions by offering treatment in Spain and covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs. Messi’s foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from Herbalife.

On 11 March 2010 Messi was announced as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Messi’s UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Messi is supported in this by FC Barcelona, who also have a strong association with UNICEF.

Media

He is featured on the front covers of the video games ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2009'' and ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2011'' and is also involved in promotional campaigns for the games. Messi, along with Fernando Torres, is the face of ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2010'', and was also involved in the motion capturing and the trailer. Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company Adidas and features in their television advertisements. In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.

Career statistics

Club

1 6 14 10 23 34 31 2

Club	Season	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	UEFA Super Cup	!colspan="3"	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="8"	Barcelona		7	|	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	—			—			—			9	1	0
2005–06 FC Barcelona season	2005–06	17	|	3	2	1	0	6	1	1	0	0	0	—			—			25	8	4
2006–07 FC Barcelona season	2006–07	26	|	2	2	2	1	5	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	36	17	3
2007–08 FC Barcelona season	2007–08	28	|	12	3	0	0	9	6	1	—			—			—			40	16	13
2008–09 FC Barcelona season	2008–09	31	|	11	8	6	2	12	9	5	—			—			—			51	38	18
2009–10 FC Barcelona season	2009–10	35	|	10	3	1	0	11	8	0	1	2	0	1	0	1	2	2	0	53	47	11
2010–11 FC Barcelona season	2010–11	33	|	18	7	7	3	13	12	3	2	3	0	—			—			55	53	24
2011–12 FC Barcelona season	2011–12	1	|	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	4	6	4
Career total	!178!!121!!57!!26!!17!!6!!57!!37!!10!!7!!8!!2!!3!!1!!2!!2!!2!!0!!273!!186!!77

International

5 8 10 9 10 10 8

!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
rowspan=7	'''Argentina	2005	|	0	0
2006	|	2	2
2007	|	6	3
2008	|	2	1
2009	|	3	2
2010	|	2	2
2011	|	2	7
Total!!60!!17!!17

International goals

Under–20

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.'' 14 June 2005 22 June 2005 24 June 2005 28 June 2005 2 July 2005 2 July 2005

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	De Grolsch Veste>Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands		1–0	2–0	2005 FIFA World Youth Championship>2005 World Youth Championship
2	|	Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands>Emmen, Netherlands		1–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
3	|	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands		3–1	3–1	2005 World Youth Championship
4	|	Stadion Galgenwaard>Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands		1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
5	|	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands		1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
6	|	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	2–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship

Under–23

7 August 2008 16 August 2008

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China		1–0	2–1	Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament>2008 Summer Olympics
2	|	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China		1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics

Senior team

1 March 2006 16 June 2006 5 June 2007 5 June 2007 8 July 2007 11 July 2007 16 October 2007 20 November 2007 align=left 4 June 2008 11 October 2008 11 February 2009 28 March 2009 14 November 2009 7 September 2010 17 November 2010 align=left 9 February 2011 align=left 20 June 2011 align=left

!Goal	!Date!!Venue!!Opponent!!Score!!Result!!Competition
1	|	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland		2–1	2–3	Exhibition game>Friendly
2	|	Veltins-Arena>WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany		6–0	6–0	2006 FIFA World Cup>2006 World Cup
3	|	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain		2–2	4–3	Friendly
4	|	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5	|	Estadio Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara>Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela		2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6	|	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela		2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7	|	Estadio José Pachencho Romero>José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela		2–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)>2010 World Cup qualification
8	|	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia ||	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9	|	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10	|	Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti>Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina		1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11	|	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France		2–0	2–0	Friendly
12	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13	|	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain		1–1	1–2	Friendly
14	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15	|	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil ||	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16	|	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal ||	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17	|	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Albania ||	2–0	4–0	Friendly

Awards and honours

Club

;Barcelona

La Liga: 5

:: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008–09

Supercopa de España: 5

:: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League: 3

:: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup: 2

:: 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup: 1

:: 2009

Argentina

FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1

:: 2005

Olympic Gold Medal: 1

:: 2008

Individual

FIFA Ballon d'Or: 1

:: 2010

Ballon d'Or: 1

:: 2009

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1

:: 2009

FIFA Team of the Year: 3

:: 2008, 2009, 2010

U-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2007

La Liga Player of the Year: 3

:: 2009, 2010, 2011

La Liga top goalscorer: 1

:: 2010

Copa del Rey top goalscorer: 1

:: 2011

La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 3

:: 2007, 2009, 2010

La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year: 4

:: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011

European Golden Shoe: 1

:: 2010

UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 3

:: 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Best Player in Europe: 1

:: 2011

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1

:: 2009

UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year: 1

:: 2009

UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 1

:: 2011

UEFA Champions League Final Fans' Man of the Match: 2

:: 2009, 2011

UEFA Team of the Year: 3

:: 2008, 2009, 2010

Footballer of the Year of Argentina: 5

:: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2

:: 2009, 2010

FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 3

:: 2006, 2007, 2008

FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2

:: 2007, 2008

FIFPro World XI: 4

:: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 1

:: 2005

FIFA U-20 World Cup top goalscorer: 1

:: 2005

Copa América Young Player of the Tournament: 1

:: 2007

World Soccer Player of the Year: 1

:: 2009

World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 3

:: 2006, 2007, 2008

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 1

:: 2009

ESM Team of the Year: 5

:: 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Onze d'Or: 2

:: 2009, 2010

Bravo Award: 1

:: 2007

Tuttosport Golden Boy: 1

:: 2005

Marca Leyenda: 1

:: 2009

UEFA best goal of the year: 1

:: 2007

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

Profile at ESPN

FIFA World Cup profile

Official page at Facebook

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rosario, Santa Fe Category:Argentine people of Italian descent Category:Naturalised citizens of Spain Category:Argentine footballers Category:Association football forwards Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Pichichi Trophy winners Category:Argentina international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2007 Copa América players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:2011 Copa América players Category:Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic footballers of Argentina Category:Olympic medalists in football Category:Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Category:UNICEF people Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain

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