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Italy's richest and most developed region Lombardy is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fourth of Italy's GDP is produced in this Region. The languages are Italian, Western Lombard and Eastern Lombard. The primary religion is Catholic, of Ambrosian rite or Roman rite.

The region occupies the main part of the Po Valley. Its northern borders are formed by the Lepontine, Rhaetian and Orobic Alps. It includes a hilly district with the major Italian lakes, from the Easter slope of Lago Maggiore to the Lakes of Varese, lseo, Como and to the northern part of Lake Garda. This region ins rich inn water, thanks to the Po and its affluents. Cities: The regional capital is Milan. Other important cities are: Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Varese, Sondrio, Pavia, Cremona, Mantua.

(Latin: Langobardia, Italian: Lombardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia)

LOMBARDIA	Back to Italy
Provinces - This region has 11 provinces: Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Mantova, Milano, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese. Chief town - Milano Surface - kmq 23856 National Parks - National Parks of Stelvio (1935)

	Origin of the Name
	Reliefs - Passes - Coasts - Islands
	Landscape
	Agriculture - Stock-Farm - Fishing
	Industry - Tourism
	Position and Frontier
	Rivers - Lakes
	Climate
	Population
	Communication

Origin of the name: The Longobardis in the VI century after Christ occupied the Peninsula and their territory almost ever since has been called Longobardia.

Prealpis that extend between Lake Maggiore and Lake of Garda, cover pastures and woods. We remember the group of Grigne, Presolana and Resegone. The passes of Lombaardia have a great importance for the traffic with foreign countries and for the communications with the Alto Adige. The principal passes are: the Footstep of Spluga that brings in Canton of the Grigioni in Switzerland, that of Stelvio, the tallest of Europe, that connects Valtellina aloft with Val Venosta Adige and Tonal Footstep that  brings from Val Camonica in Trentino. To Lombardy belongs the central part of Lowland Padana, which goes down very softly toward the sea. The composition of the ground helps to practise an intensive agriculture in the southern part, along Po, where the ground is clayey and impermeable; making water flow on yhe surface irrigating varied crops. In the zone of Prealpi instead the ground is gravelly and allows water to pass through it, making it arid and of little fertility.

Landscape: In the mountainous part we find very tall tops and the glaciers that are impossible to miss, but the constitution of the mountains is less hard than from the other parts, with less steep slopes and very wide and open valleys. The Region is rich in water and therefore with electric energy. The rivers go down quickly, but they are braked from the lakes and from the fact what crossing the lowland, are many man made channels of irrigation that enrich the crops. Going down to valley we often find a phenomenon typical of Lowland Padana, that is the fog. To contrast of this phenomenon we find a cheerful one in the panning zone of the lakes which posse a mild climate. The zones of cultivation, laternate with grey landscapes of  industrial establishments. Often the cities don't have a well defined border and are united by the production of oil with the other peripheral urban zones, forming only one urban complex. The whole region is crossed by a sharp pain road net that sustains an intense local traffic, also toward the sea and the mountains.

Agriculture - Stock-farm - Fishing: Although Lombardy has a big mountainous part where the earh is almost void of output, the agricultural production of the region is amoung the tallest in Italy. The part exploited for the agriculturals work is in the central southern part where, thanks to the fertility of the ground, and to the abundance of irrigation and the modern systems used for cultivation, the whole year is exploited for the cultivation of wheat, rice, vegetables and forage. In the tall lowland cultivations that prevail are sugar beets, potatoes and maize which do not need very fertile grounds. The cultivation of vines is found in the hilly zones of  the low mountains, while in tall mountains we find the pastures. Lombardy has the supremacy in general in Italy for the breeding cattle cows milk. The production of meat, milk, butter and cheese has a large production in the Italian market. Some cheeses such as the gorgonzola and the belpaese are exported abroad. Lombardy is also the first in the breeding of the pig, with a large production of packaged meat.

Other important industries are those of the pharmaceutical (Charles Erba), electronics (IBM and Simens) and electrotechnicals (Magnets Marelli). They arein addition to the rubber industries (Pirelli), furniture (in the Brianza), footwear (Vigevano), alimentary (Galbani and Cademartori), confectionery (Motta and Alemagna), publishing (Mondadori and Rizzzoli) and weapons (Beretta).

Position and Frontier: The region is extended between Po and the central Alps. The southern territory of the Region is the central part of Lowland Padana, limited to west from Lake Maggiore and from Ticino and to east from Garda Lake and from Mincio; to a band of hills that follows the mountainous zone, prealpina and alpine, which reaches always great altitudes proceeding toward the north, where we find the border with Switzerland. To east it borders with Trentino-tall Adige and Veneto, to south with Emilia Romagna and Piedmont and finally to west with Piedmont.

Rivers - Lakes: The principal rivers of Lombardia, tributaries to the left of Po, are: Ticino, tributary and emissary of Lake Maggiore that passes for Pavia; Adda is born in Valtellina and flows to Colico in Lake of Como of drawers and goes out to Lecco bathing Praises; Brembo and Serio one that owes their name to the respective valleys, Val Brembana and Val Seriana  meet their waters in the river Adda; Oglio crosses Val Camonica  and enters and goes out in Lake of Iseo and it is thrown in Po and ends in Mincio that goes out of Garda Lake  to Peschiera and bathes Mantua. The waters of the rivers feed a sharp net of artificial channels that  regulate and distribute water in the most arid zones. The most important is the Great Naviglio,  the Shipping in Pavia, the Shipping of Martesana and the Channel Villoresi. In the lakes zone we remember the oriental shore of Lake Maggiore, Lake of Lugano where the northern part belongs to Switzerland, Lake of Chest of drawers, Lake of Iseo and the western bank of Lake of Garda.

Climate: In the lowland the winters are figid and the summers sultry . During autumn and winter there are dense and persistent fogs. In the hills the fogs are less frequent as well as the warm summers. In the mountain instead the climate is very rigid and more mild on the lakes od prealpi.

Population: Lombardy is a region of  high population density. The number of the inhabitants is almost double of the other more populated Italian regions. The populated zones are those of the tall lowland where the big commercial complexes rise and where Milan is found with around 1. 500. 000 inhabitants. The zones instead of the low lowlands are less populated even if they are the most fertile zones in Lombardy but, the motive that has pushed the farmers to abandon the country has been the little output of the earth. With the large number of jobs developed by the agricultural cars, the need for manpower is small, therefore a lot of people that  look for employment prefer to work in the industrial and commercial firms.

Economy

Lombardy is one of the engines of the global economy with a GDP calculated by ISTAT at $400 billion and a per capita GDP of $49,216. The Lombard per capita GDP is higher than those of United States, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland or Sweden. The region is one of the three richest in Europe, [citation needed] with a per capita gross domestic product that is 50 percent higher than the rest of Italy. In fact, the latest Eurostat figures shows that Lombardy in 2003 had the highest GDP for a region in the whole of the EU. [citation needed] Many foreign and national companies have their headquarters in Milan. Manufactures include iron and steel, cars, mechanics components, chemical products, textiles, furnitures, leather, shoes and many others. The province of Brescia is well-known for the production of weapons and the province of Como for silk and lace. The productivity of agriculture is enhanced by a well-developed use of fertilizers and the traditional abundance of water, boosted since the Middle Ages by the construction (partly designed by Leonardo Da Vinci) of a wide net of irrigation systems. Lower plains are characterized by fodder crops, which are mowed up to eight times a years, cereals (rice, wheat and maize) and sugarbeet. Productions of the higher plains include cereals, vegetables, fruit trees and mulberries. The higher areas, up to the Prealps and Alps sectors of the north, produce fruit, vines, olives. Cattle (with the highest density in Italy), pigs and sheep are raised.

Politics

The Christian-centre party of Democrazia Cristiana (DC) maintained a majority of the votes and rule of the most important cities and provinces until the late 1980s; support for the other traditional major force of Italian politics, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), was increasingly eroded by the Partito Socialista Italiano (PSI) until, in the early 1990s, the Mani Pulite corruption scandal which spread from Milan to the whole of Italy wiped away the old political class almost entirely. This, together with problems caused by immigration and the general disaffection towards Rome's government (considered too oriented to the less developed regions of southern Italy in economical matters), led to the sudden growth of the separatist party of Lega Lombarda (later Lega Nord), with somewhat plebiscitary consensus especially in agricultural areas and minor cities of the region. Today Lombardy is a stronghold of the House of Freedom coalition, and gave about 57% of its votes to Silvio Berlusconi at the April 2006 elections.

The Territory: In the North of Italy along the border with Switzerland, with very high mountains such as Mount Bernina (4050m), Pizzo della Presolana, Adamello (3554m) the region is crossed by the Po river, the largest in Italy, in the South, and by many of its most important tributaries, the Ticino, Adda, Oglio, Mincio, that all form a number of lakes, making the region the richest of large lakes in Italy: Lago Maggiore, Lago di Varese, Lago di Lugano, Lago di Como, Lago d'Idro and Lago di Garda. The main crops, especially in the wide Pianura Padana, are wheat, rice, maize, barley, and the region is first in Italy for farming, with a considerable production of meat, milk and dairy products. It is also the region where industry and finance are most developed, and Milan is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (Piazza Affari). Tourism is also a remarkable activity in the mountain resorts, in the area of the lakes and in the art cities of Bergamo, Mantua, Como and Milan.

Lombardy, lies between the Alps and the River Po. Although Lombardy is known for its industrial development, many tourists have found themselves pleasantly surprised to find the region full of extraordinary cultural, artistic and natural heritage. Lombardy stretches out from the Alps to the lakes of Garda, Maggiore, Iseo and Como and is home to historic towns such as Mantova, Bergamo, and Cremona; and Italy's financial and cultural capital, Milan.

 Food and Wine Lombard cuisine includes lots of rice, vegetables and cheese, with long cooking times and often single dishes. Polenta reigns in the kitchen. Risotto, such as the dish “Risotto alla Milanese” is also renowned, as are pasta with fillings, such as Casonsei from Bergamo and Brescia, Marubin from Cremona or pumpkin ravioli from Mantova. Valtellina is home to Pizzoccheri, pasta made from buckwheat. Meat dishes include the famous Milanese fillet (covered in breadcrumbs and fried), but stew and game are also traditional dishes. One of Lombardy’s most symbolic dishes has to be Casöla, a rich stew with cabbage and pork. Cold cuts have ancient aromas and flavors: Cotechino, pork meat that requires some cooking, Brianza salami, Varzi salami, Cremona salami, goose salami from Mortara, Violino di Capra from Valchiavenna and the famous Bresaola from Valtellina, made from seasoned beef thigh. Cheese produced in Lombardy is synonymous with high quality. Each area has its own little gem: Casera and Bitto from Valtellina, Provolone, Grana and fresh Crescenza from Valpadana, Quartirolo, Bagoss, Formai de Mut and Taleggio from the valleys around Bergamo and Brescia, not to mention one of the most famous Italian cheeses, Gorgonzola. Wine from Lombardy boasts an ancient tradition and is produced in three main areas. Franciacorta, an area between Bergamo and Brescia, which produces excellent white and red wines, as well as the most famous Italian sparkling wine: Franciacorta DOCG. Oltrepò Pavese is a hillside area south of Pavia where 16 white and red DOC wines are produced, lying among the old villages and castles. Lastly, Valtellina produces great red wines such as Valtellina Superiore or vintage “Sfursat”. The area is famous for its cultivation of vineyards on terraced land supported by stones that cling to the steep slopes.

The richest, most highly developed and most densely populated region of Italy. And it is precisely for this that it is one of most surprising and unexpected for the tourist who arrives there knowing little of its historic, architectural, artistic and natural heritage. Let us take Milan, the great city of industry and commerce. Here everything that is modern and advanced finds its home: from technological innovation to fashion, from advertising to design, from ways of life to political "experiments". Milan sets the trend. Yet, beneath its thick aspect of a dynamic and modern metropolis projected towards the future, Milan conceals extraordinary architectural and artistic treasures.

There is only the embarrassment of choice: the Duomo, the Castello Sforzesco, the La Scala theatre and the Brera picture gallery. And in the rest of Lombardy there are many splendid natural landscapes (the lakes, the Stelvio national park), and monuments and works of art of considerable value. At Monza, Varese, Como, Bergamo, Brescia, Lodi, Cremona, and Pavia, every era has made its cultural and artistic mark: in the urban structures, in the churches, in the civic buildings. >From the Romanesque to the Gothic, from the Renaissance to the Baroque, up to the most daring and innovative architectural and artistic solutions of the modern and contemporary eras: Lombardy boasts an impressive cultural and artistic heritage. And many people have yet to discover all this.

MILAN is an Italian city like no other. It's foggy in winter, muggy and mosquito-ridden in summer, and is closer in outlook, as well as distance, to London than to Palermo. This is no city of peeling palazzi, cobbled piazzas and la dolce vita, but one where consumerism and the work ethic rule the lives of its well-dressed citizens. Many visitors pass straight through, and if it's summer and you're keen for sun and sea this might well be the best thing you can do; the weather, in July and August especially, can be off-puttingly humid. But at any other time of year it's well worth giving Milan more of a chance. It's a historic city, with a spectacular cathedral and enough ancient churches and galleries to keep you busy for a week, but there are also bars and cafés to relax in, and the contemporary aspects of the place represent the leading edge of Italy's fashion and design industry

Best travel guides for Lombardy region Italy and Milan charming city.

http://www.regione.lombardia.it

http://www.regione.lombardia.it

http://www.tripadvisor.com/AllReviews-g187829-Lombardy.html

http://www.italylogue.com/lombardy

http://www.world66.com/europe/italy/lombardia

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501766-milan_vacations-i

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187849-Milan_Lombardy-Vacations.html

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan-148247 /TravelGuide-Milan.html

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