183-686: Walter Pontel (born 4 October 1937 in Milan ; died 6 January 2003 in Salerno in a traffic accident) was an Italian professional football player and coach. This biographical article related to association football in Italy, about a goalkeeper, is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Milan Milan ( / m ɪ ˈ l æ n / mil- AN , US also / m ɪ ˈ l ɑː n / mil- AHN , Milanese : [miˈlãː] ; Italian : Milano [miˈlaːno] )
366-498: A topographic point of view, superimposed and replaced by the Roman one. The Roman city was then gradually superimposed and replaced by the medieval one. The urban center of Milan has therefore grown constantly and rapidly, until modern times, around the first Celtic nucleus. The original Celtic toponym Medhelanon then changed, as evidenced by a graffiti in Celtic language present on a section of
549-725: A Council ( Consiglio ) and a President, elected contextually to the city Mayor. The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114), the Municipal Statute and several laws, notably the Legislative Decree 267/2000 or Unified Text on Local Administration ( Testo Unico degli Enti Locali ). After the 2016 administrative reform, the Borough Councils have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on
732-524: A Japanese garden and a public library. The Montanelli gardens, created in the 18th century, hosts the Natural History Museum of Milan and a planetarium . Slightly away from the city centre, heading east, Forlanini Park is characterised by a large pond and a few preserved shacks which remind of the area's agricultural past. In recent years Milan's authorities pledged to develop its green areas: they planned to create twenty new urban parks and extend
915-464: A Roman invasion. King Gaiseric tried to negotiate a peace with Majorian, who rejected the proposal. In the wake of this, Gaiseric devastated Mauretania , part of his own kingdom, fearing that the Roman army would land there. Having regained control of Hispania, Majorian intended to use his fleet at Carthaginiensis to attack the Vandals. Before he could, the fleet was destroyed, allegedly by traitors paid by
1098-555: A West continued, as happened after the deaths of Constantine and Theodosius I . The Roman Empire was under the rule of a single emperor, but, with the death of Constantine in 337, the empire was partitioned between his surviving male heirs. Constantius , his third son and the second by his wife Fausta (Maximian's daughter) received the eastern provinces, including Constantinople, Thrace , Asia Minor , Syria , Egypt , and Cyrenaica; Constantine II received Britannia, Gaul , Hispania, and Mauretania ; and Constans , initially under
1281-604: A bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing 17 people and injuring 88. In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani , Prada , Versace , Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana ), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism , notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led
1464-566: A candidate of their own, Julius Nepos , magister militum in Dalmatia . With the support of Eastern emperors Leo II and Zeno , Julius Nepos crossed the Adriatic Sea in the spring of 474 to depose Glycerius. At the arrival of Nepos in Italy, Glycerius abdicated without a fight and was allowed to live out his life as the Bishop of Salona . The brief rule of Nepos in Italy ended in 475 when Orestes ,
1647-527: A donkey backward through the city until getting out. Frederick I Barbarossa brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its geographical position. During this time, the city was considered one of the largest European cities. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to
1830-443: A financial account, Valentinian suddenly leaped from his seat and declared that he would no longer be the victim of Aetius' drunken depravities. Aetius attempted to defend himself from the charges, but Valentinian drew his sword and struck the weaponless Aetius on the head, killing him on the spot. On 16 March the following year, Valentinian himself was killed by supporters of the dead general, possibly acting for Petronius Maximus. With
2013-530: A former secretary of Attila and the magister militum of Julius Nepos, took control of Ravenna and forced Nepos to flee by ship to Dalmatia . Later in the same year, Orestes crowned his own young son as Western emperor under the name Romulus Augustus . Romulus Augustus was not recognised as Western emperor by the Eastern Court, who maintained that Nepos was the only legal Western emperor, reigning in exile from Dalmatia . On 4 September 476, Odoacer , leader of
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#17328585640352196-609: A huge consensus and to pressure the monarchy to forge an alliance with the new French Empire of Napoleon III to defeat Austria and establish a large Italian state in the region. At the Battle of Solferino in 1859 French and Italian troops heavily defeated the Austrians that retreated under the Quadrilateral line . Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into Piedmont-Sardinia, which then proceeded to annex all
2379-423: A large complex of imperial palaces and other services and buildings of which few visible traces remain. Maximian increased the city area to 375 acres by surrounding it with a new, larger stone wall (about 4.5 km long) with many 24-sided towers. The monumental area had twin towers; the one included later in the construction of the convent of San Maurizio Maggiore remains 16.6 m high. It was from Mediolanum that
2562-412: A large spectrum of topics and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection, roads, parks, libraries and local commerce; in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding to finance local activities. Milan is the capital of the eponymous Metropolitan city . According to the last governmental dispositions concerning administrative reorganisation,
2745-547: A long-term territorial and official base, but was never able to do so. Stilicho tried to defend Italy and bring the invading Goths under control, but to do so he stripped the Rhine frontier of troops and the Vandals , Alans , and Suevi invaded Gaul in large numbers in 406. Stilicho became a victim of court intrigues and was killed in 408. While the East began a slow recovery and consolidation,
2928-646: A major trade and commercial centre, as the capital of the Duchy of Milan , one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance . Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period , it then became one of the most active centres during the Restoration , until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy . From the 20th century onwards Milan became
3111-460: A much larger site in Rho . The long decline in traditional manufacturing has been overshadowed by a great expansion of publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics and tourism. The city's decades-long population decline seems to have partially reverted in recent years, as the comune gained about 100,000 new residents since the last census. The successful re-branding of
3294-512: A nearly two-fold increase in population. In the 1950s and 1960s, a strong demand for new residential and commercial areas drove to extreme urban expansion, that has produced some of the major milestones in the city's architectural history, including Gio Ponti 's Pirelli Tower (1956–60), Velasca Tower (1956–58), and the creation of brand new residential satellite towns, as well as huge amounts of low-quality public housings. In recent years, de-industrialization, urban decay and gentrification led to
3477-601: A partial list of its consuls still survives. It maintained Roman religion, language, and culture, and was far more concerned with fighting the Germanic tribes , fending off Germanic incursions and restoring the security the Gallic provinces had enjoyed in the past, than in challenging the Roman central government. In the reign of Claudius Gothicus (268–270), large expanses of the Gallic Empire were restored to Roman rule. At roughly
3660-430: A population estimated at 3,196,825, with a resulting density of 2,029 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,260/sq mi). A larger urban area, comprising parts of the provinces of Milan, Monza e Brianza, Como, Lecco and Varese is 1,891 square kilometres (730 sq mi) wide and has a population of 5.27 million with a density of 2,783 inhabitants per square kilometre (7,210/sq mi). The concentric layout of
3843-473: A pragmatic emperor might hold some members of the general's family hostage . To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis , Governor of Ostia , who were respectively the younger son and brother-in-law of Vespasian. Nero's rule was ended by a revolt of the Praetorian Guard , who had been bribed in the name of Galba . The Praetorian Guard, a figurative "sword of Damocles ",
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#17328585640354026-473: A pretense of Roman continuity through the continued use of the old Roman administrative systems and nominal subservience to the Eastern Roman court. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian I re-imposed direct Imperial rule on large parts of the former Western Roman Empire, including the prosperous regions of North Africa , the ancient Roman heartland of Italy and parts of Hispania . Political instability in
4209-516: A series of puppet emperors who could do little to halt the collapse of Roman authority and the loss of the territories re-conquered by Majorian. The first of these puppet emperors, Libius Severus , had no recognition outside of Italy, with the Eastern emperor Leo I and provincial governors in Gaul and Illyria all refusing to recognize him. Severus died in 465 and Leo I, with the consent of Ricimer, appointed
4392-543: A single polity governed by two imperial courts for administrative expediency. The Western Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna disappeared by AD 554, at the end of Justinian 's Gothic War . Though there were periods with more than one emperor ruling jointly before, the view that it was impossible for a single emperor to govern the entire Empire was institutionalized by emperor Diocletian following
4575-658: A theatre and an amphitheatre (129.5 x 109.3 m), the third largest in Roman Italy after the Colosseum in Rome and the vast amphitheatre in Capua . A large stone wall encircled the city in Caesar's time, and later was expanded in the late third century AD, by Maximian . Maximian built several gigantic monuments including the large circus (470 × 85 metres) and the thermae or Baths of Hercules ,
4758-515: A vast urban renewal of former industrial areas, that have been transformed into modern residential and financial districts, notably Porta Nuova in downtown Milan and FieraMilano in the suburb of Rho . In addition, the old exhibition area is being completely reshaped according to the Citylife regeneration project, featuring residencial areas, museums, an urban park and three skyscrapers designed by international architects, and after whom they are named:
4941-477: Is a city in northern Italy , regional capital of Lombardy , the largest city in Italy by urban population and the second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome . The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents. The urban area of Milan is the fourth-most-populous in the EU with 6.17 million inhabitants. According to national sources,
5124-785: Is a covered passage with a glass and cast iron roof, inspired by the Burlington Arcade in London. Several other arcades such as the Galleria del Corso , built between 1923 and 1931, complement it. Another late-19th-century eclectic monument in the city is the Cimitero Monumentale graveyard, built in a Neo-Romanesque style between 1863 and 1866. The tumultuous period of early 20th century brought several, radical innovations in Milanese architecture. Art Nouveau , also known as Liberty in Italy,
5307-482: Is also a well-known centre for artists. Milan features a mid-latitude, four-season humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), according to the Köppen climate classification . Milan's climate is similar to much of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot, humid summers and cold, foggy winters. The Alps and Apennine Mountains form a natural barrier that protects the city from the major circulations coming from northern Europe and
5490-624: Is among the least windy cities in Europe. The legislative body of the Italian comuni is the City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ), which in cities with more than one million population is composed by 48 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, at the same time of the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee ( Giunta Comunale ), composed by 12 assessors , that
5673-606: 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. Around 590 BC a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled
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5856-526: Is generally absent: over the course of the year typical wind speeds vary from 0 to 14 km/h (0 to 9 mph) (calm to gentle breeze), rarely exceeding 29 km/h (18 mph) (fresh breeze), except during summer thunderstorms when winds can blow strong. In the spring, gale-force windstorms may happen, generated either by Tramontane blowing from the Alps or by Bora -like winds from the north. Due to its geographic location surrounded by mountains on 3 sides, Milan
6039-480: Is more likely to be accompanied by thunderstorms and hail . Springs and autumns are generally pleasant, with temperatures ranging between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F); these seasons are characterized by higher rainfall, especially in April and May. Relative humidity typically ranges between 45% (comfortable) and 95% (very humid) throughout the year, rarely dropping below 27% (dry) and reaching as high as 100%. Wind
6222-468: Is nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor . The current mayor of Milan is Giuseppe Sala , an independent leading a centre-left alliance led by the Democratic Party . The municipality of Milan is subdivided into nine administrative Borough Councils ( Consigli di Municipio ), down from the former twenty districts before the 1999 administrative reform. Each Borough Council is governed by
6405-476: Is recognisable in Palazzo Castiglioni , built by architect Giuseppe Sommaruga between 1901 and 1903. Other examples include Hotel Corso, Casa Guazzoni with its wrought iron and staircase, and Berri-Meregalli house, the latter built in a traditional Milanese Art Nouveau style combined with elements of neo-Romanesque and Gothic revival architecture, regarded as one of the last such types of architecture in
6588-720: The Academy of Fine Arts ). The massive Arch of Peace , situated at the bottom of Corso Sempione, is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In the second half of the 19th century, Milan quickly became the main industrial centre of the new Italian nation, drawing inspiration from the great European capitals that were hubs of the Second Industrial Revolution . The great Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II , realised by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877 to celebrate Vittorio Emanuele II ,
6771-619: The Austrian Habsburgs . In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Habsburg 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 King of Italy in
6954-511: The Battle of Mursa Major and committed suicide, a complete reunification of the whole Empire occurred under Constantius in 353. Constantius II focused most of his power in the East. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium – only recently re-founded as Constantinople – was fully developed as a capital. At Constantinople, the political, economic and military control of the Eastern Empire's resources would remain safe for centuries to come. The city
7137-521: The Battle of Samarra against the Sasanian Empire and was succeeded by Jovian , who ruled for only nine months. Following the death of Jovian, Valentinian I emerged as emperor in 364. He immediately divided the Empire once again, giving the eastern half to his brother Valens . Stability was not achieved for long in either half, as the conflicts with outside forces (barbarian tribes) intensified. In 376,
7320-456: The Domain of Soissons ) also recognized Nepos as his sovereign and the legitimate Western emperor. The authority of Julius Nepos as emperor was accepted not only by Odoacer in Italy, but by the Eastern Empire and Syagrius in Gaul (who had not recognized Romulus Augustulus). Nepos was murdered by his own soldiers in 480, a plot some attribute to Odoacer or the previous, deposed emperor Glycerius, and
7503-777: The Emperor Constantine issued what is now known as the Edict of Milan in AD 313, granting tolerance to all religions within the Empire, thus paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion of the Empire. Constantine was in Mediolanum to celebrate the wedding of his sister to the Eastern Emperor, Licinius . In 402, the Visigoths besieged the city and the Emperor Honorius moved
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7686-720: The Frankish king Charlemagne as Roman Emperor in 800 marked a new imperial line that would evolve into the Holy Roman Empire , which presented a revival of the Imperial title in Western Europe but was in no meaningful sense an extension of Roman traditions or institutions. The Great Schism of 1054 between the churches of Rome and Constantinople further diminished any authority the emperor in Constantinople could hope to exert in
7869-617: The Gildonic War . Stilicho managed to subdue Gildo but was campaigning in Raetia when the Visigoths entered Italy in 402. Stilicho, hurrying back to aid in defending Italy, summoned legions in Gaul and Britain with which he managed to defeat Alaric twice before agreeing to allow him to retreat back to Illyria . The weakening of the frontiers in Britain and Gaul had dire consequences for the Empire. As
8052-473: The Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture , it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who Latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum . The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity , when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire . From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and
8235-531: The Italian Wars . The king's cousin, Louis of Orléans , took part in the expedition and realized most of Italy was virtually defenseless. This prompted him to come back a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries . After the victory of Louis's successor François I over
8418-635: The Lombards (from whom the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine garrison left for its defence. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors . City-states emerged in northern Italy, an expression of
8601-501: The Ospedale Maggiore and Bramante's work in the city, which includes Santa Maria presso San Satiro (a reconstruction of a small 9th-century church), the tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie and three cloisters for Sant'Ambrogio. The Counter-Reformation in the 16th to 17th centuries 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
8784-408: The Roman Senate . Though supported by the Gallic provinces and the Visigoths, Avitus was resented in Italy due to ongoing food shortages caused by Vandal control of trade routes, and for using a Visigothic imperial guard. He disbanded his guard due to popular pressure, and the Suebian general Ricimer used the opportunity to depose Avitus, counting on popular discontent. After the deposition of Avitus,
8967-420: The Second Tetrarchy . The Tetrarchy collapsed after the unexpected death of Constantius in 306. His son, Constantine , was declared Western emperor by the British legions, but several other claimants arose and attempted to seize the Western Empire. In 308, Galerius revived the Tetrarchy by dividing the Western Empire between Constantine and Licinius . However, Constantine was more interested in conquering
9150-424: The Second World War Milan's large industrial and transport facilities suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings that often also hit residential districts. When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied and plundered most of northern Italy, fueling the birth of a massive resistance guerrilla movement. On 29 April 1945, the American 1st Armored Division was advancing on Milan but, before it arrived,
9333-424: The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus . The severity of the Vandal sack of 455 is disputed, though with the Vandals plundering the city for a full fourteen days as opposed to the Visigothic sack of 410, where the Visigoths only spent three days in the city, it was likely more thorough. Avitus , a prominent general under Petronius, was proclaimed emperor by the Visigothic king Theodoric II and accepted as such by
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#17328585640359516-413: The Visigoths , fleeing before the Ostrogoths , who in turn were fleeing before the Huns , were allowed to cross the river Danube and settle in the Balkans by the Eastern government. Mistreatment caused a full-scale rebellion, and in 378 they inflicted a crippling defeat on the Eastern Roman field army in the Battle of Adrianople , in which Emperor Valens also died. The defeat at Adrianople was shocking to
9699-442: The Welsh word llan , meaning "a sanctuary or church", ultimately cognate to English/German Land ) in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe. Indeed, about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France bore the name "Mediolanum", for example: Saintes ( Mediolanum Santonum ) and Évreux ( Mediolanum Aulercorum ). In addition, another theory links
9882-400: The Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo . Milan was founded with the Celtic name of Medhelanon, later Latinized by the ancient Romans into Mediolanum . In Celtic language medhe- meant "middle, centre" and the name element -lanon is the Celtic equivalent of Latin -planum "plain", meant "(settlement) in the midst of
10065-419: The cathedral . Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan, to Austrian control in 1815. On 18 March 1848 Milan effectively rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called " Five Days " ( Italian : Le Cinque Giornate ), that forced Field Marshal Radetzky to temporarily withdraw from the city. The bordering Kingdom of Piedmont–Sardinia sent troops to protect
10248-443: The centre-left coalition and 13 from the Five Star Movement. The seat of the regional government is Palazzo Lombardia that, standing at 161.3 metres (529 feet), is the fifth-tallest building in Milan. The architectural and artistic presence in Milan represents one of the attractions of the Lombard capital. Milan has been among the most important Italian centers in the history of architecture , has made important contributions to
10431-421: The centre-right coalition , a coalition of centrist and right-wing parties, led by Attilio Fontana, largely won the regional election, defeating a coalition of socialists, liberals and ecologists and a third-party candidate from the populist Five Stars Movement . The conservatives have governed the region almost uninterruptedly since 1970. The regional council has 48 members from the centre-right coalition, 18 from
10614-410: The largest economies among EU cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe . Milan is a major international tourist destination, appearing among the most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in
10797-427: The lingua franca . Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia (modern Italy), Gaul (modern France), Gallia Belgica (parts of modern Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg ), and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). These lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received
10980-412: The third largest in the world , as well as the most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy. The gilt bronze statue of the Virgin Mary , placed in 1774 on the highest pinnacle of the Duomo, soon became one of the most enduring symbols of Milan . In the 15th century, when the Sforza ruled the city, an old Viscontean fortress was enlarged and embellished to become the Castello Sforzesco ,
11163-417: The 202-metre (663-foot) Isozaki Arata —when completed, the tallest building in Italy, the twisted Hadid Tower , and the curved Libeskind Tower . Two business districts dominate Milan's skyline: Porta Nuova in the north-east (boroughs No. 9 and 2) and CityLife (borough No. 8) in the north-west part of the commune. The tallest buildings include the Unicredit Tower at 231 m (though only 162 m without
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#173285856403511346-488: The 3rd century. This system effectively divided the Empire into four major regions, the First Tetrarchy : in the West, Maximian made Mediolanum (now Milan ) his capital, and Constantius made Trier his. In the East, Galerius made his capital Sirmium and Diocletian made Nicomedia his. On 1 May 305, Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, replaced by Galerius and Constantius, who, in turn, appointed Maximinus II and Valerius Severus , respectively, as their caesars, thus creating
11529-402: The Eastern emperor Leo I did not select a new western Augustus . The prominent general Majorian defeated an invading force of Alemanni and was subsequently proclaimed Western emperor by the army and eventually accepted as such by Leo. Majorian was the last Western emperor to attempt to recover the Western Empire with his own military forces. To prepare, Majorian significantly strengthened
11712-434: The Eastern emperor Theodosius I restored him to power. In 392, the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as emperor. In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life. Again Theodosius I won, and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395. He was the last emperor to rule both parts of
11895-416: The Eastern emperor Zeno chose not to appoint a new Western emperor. Zeno, recognizing that no true Roman control remained over the territories legally governed by the Western court, instead chose to abolish the juridical division of the position of emperor and declared himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. Zeno became the first sole Roman emperor since the division after Theodosius I, 85 years prior, and
12078-401: The Eastern heartlands, combined with foreign invasions, plague, and religious differences, made efforts to retain control of these territories difficult and they were gradually lost for good. Though the Eastern Empire retained territories in the south of Italy until the eleventh century, the influence that the Empire had over Western Europe had diminished significantly. The papal coronation of
12261-400: The Empire expanded, two key frontiers revealed themselves. In the West, behind the rivers Rhine and Danube , Germanic tribes were an important enemy. Augustus, the first emperor, had tried to conquer them but had pulled back after the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest . Whilst the Germanic tribes were formidable foes, the Parthian Empire in the East presented the greatest threat to
12444-415: The Empire. Aetius transferred his forces to the Danube, though Attila concentrated on raiding the Eastern Roman provinces in the Balkans, providing temporary relief to the Western Empire. In 449, Attila received a message from Honoria , Valentinian III's sister, offering him half the western empire if he would rescue her from an unwanted marriage that her brother was forcing her into. With a pretext to invade
12627-417: The Empire. Conquered tribes or oppressed cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion. While this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime. In a full-blown military campaign , the legions were far more numerous – as, for example, those led by Vespasian in the First Jewish–Roman War . To ensure a commander's loyalty,
12810-418: The Empire. The Parthians were too remote and powerful to be conquered and there was a constant Parthian threat of invasion. The Parthians repelled several Roman invasions, and even after successful wars of conquest, such as those implemented by Trajan or Septimius Severus , the conquered territories were forsaken in attempts to ensure a lasting peace with the Parthians. The Parthian Empire would be succeeded by
12993-477: The Gallo-Roman senator Jovinus revolted after proclaiming himself emperor, with the support of the Gallic nobility and the barbarian Burgundians and Alans. Honorius turned to the Visigoths under King Athaulf for support. Athaulf defeated and executed Jovinus and his proclaimed co-emperor Sebastianus in 413, around the same time as another usurper arose in Africa , Heraclianus . Heraclianus attempted to invade Italy but failed and retreated to Carthage, where he
13176-551: The German provinces – rebelled, and his assault on Colonia Agrippina resulted in the deaths of Saloninus and the prefect. In the confusion that followed, an independent state known in modern historiography as the Gallic Empire emerged. Its capital was Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier ), and it quickly expanded its control over the German and Gaulish provinces, all of Hispania and Britannia . It had its own senate , and
13359-587: The Germanic foederati in Italy, captured Ravenna, killed Orestes and deposed Romulus. Though Romulus was deposed, Nepos did not return to Italy and continued to reign as Western emperor from Dalmatia , with support from Constantinople. Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with the Eastern emperor Zeno . Zeno eventually granted Odoacer patrician status as recognition of his authority and accepted him as his viceroy of Italy. Zeno, however, insisted that Odoacer had to pay homage to Julius Nepos as
13542-648: The Hun homelands along the Danube, forced Attila to turn back and leave Italy. When Attila died unexpectedly in 453, the power struggle that erupted between his sons ended the threat posed by the Huns. Valentinian III was intimidated by Aetius and was encouraged by the Roman senator Petronius Maximus and the chamberlain Heraclius to assassinate him. When Aetius was at court in Ravenna delivering
13725-448: The Hunnic forces, though Attila escaped. Attila regrouped and invaded Italy in 452. With Aetius not having enough forces to attack him, the road to Rome was open. Valentinian sent Pope Leo I and two leading senators to negotiate with Attila. This embassy, combined with a plague among Attila's troops, the threat of famine, and news that the Eastern emperor Marcian had launched an attack on
13908-524: The Imperial residence to Ravenna . In 452, Attila besieged the city, but the real break with the city's Imperial past came in 539, during the Gothic War , when Uraias (a nephew of Witiges , formerly King of the Italian Ostrogoths ) carried out attacks in Milan, with losses, according to Procopius , being about 300,000 men. The Lombards took Ticinum as their capital in 572 (renaming it Papia –
14091-581: The Insubres and captured the settlement in 222 BC. The chief of the Insubres then submitted to Rome, giving the Romans control of the settlement. The Romans eventually conquered the entirety of the region , calling the new province " Cisalpine Gaul " ( Latin : Gallia Cisalpina )—"Gaul this side of the Alps"—and may have given the city its Latinized name of Mediolanum : in Gaulish *medio- meant "middle, centre" and
14274-664: The Italian resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with his mistress and several regime officers, that were later hanged and exposed in Piazzale Loreto , where one year before some resistance members had been executed. During the post-war economic boom, the reconstruction effort and the Italian economic miracle attracted a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of southern Italy ) to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan
14457-589: The Mayor of Milan is designated to exercise the functions of Metropolitan mayor ( Sindaco metropolitano ), presiding over a Metropolitan Council formed by 24 mayors of municipalities within the Metro municipality. The Metropolitan City of Milan is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor ( Sindaco metropolitano ) and by the Metropolitan Council ( Consiglio metropolitano ). Since 21 June 2016, Giuseppe Sala , as mayor of
14640-544: The Medhelanon community were built. First, a temple dedicated to the goddess Belisama was built, which was located near the modern Milan Cathedral . Then, near the modern Via Moneta, which is located near today's Piazza San Sepolcro , a fortified building with military functions was built which was surrounded by a defensive moat. During the Roman Republic , the Romans, led by consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus , fought
14823-593: The Rhine frontier in the 4th century, when Trier frequently served as a military capital of sorts for the Empire. Many leading Western generals were barbarians . The reign of Honorius was, even by Western Roman standards, chaotic and plagued by both internal and external struggles. The Visigothic foederati under Alaric, magister militum in Illyricum , rebelled in 395. Gildo , the Comes Africae and Magister utriusque militiae per Africam , rebelled in 397 and initiated
15006-513: The Roman Empire before the West fragmented and collapsed. Theodosius I's older son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half. Both were still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively. Honorius was placed under the tutelage of the half-Roman/half-barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho , while Rufinus became the power behind the throne in
15189-536: The Roman Empire sank into a 50-year period of civil war now known as the Crisis of the Third Century. During this period, the Empire saw the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability, with multiple usurpers competing for power. The idea of dividing the empire was first developed in this time; Valerian and his son Gallienus divided
15372-597: The Roman walls of Milan which dates back to a period following the Roman conquest of the Celtic village, in Mesiolano. In 286, the Roman Emperor Diocletian moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Rome to Mediolanum. Diocletian himself chose to reside at Nicomedia in the Eastern Empire, leaving his colleague Maximian at Milan. During the Augustan age Mediolanum was famous for its schools; it possessed
15555-731: The Romanized population subject to invasions, first by the Picts and then by the Saxons , Angli , and the Jutes who began to settle permanently from about 440 onwards. After Honorius accepted Constantine as co-emperor, Constantine's general in Hispania, Gerontius , proclaimed Maximus as emperor. With the aid of general Constantius , Honorius defeated Gerontius and Maximus in 411 and shortly thereafter captured and executed Constantine III. With Constantius back in Italy,
15738-498: The Romans, and forced them to negotiate with and settle the Visigoths within the borders of the Empire, where they would become semi-independent foederati under their own leaders. More than in the East, there was also opposition to the Christianizing policy of the emperors in the western part of the Empire. In 379, Valentinian I's son and successor Gratian declined to wear the mantle of Pontifex Maximus , and in 382 he rescinded
15921-534: The Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire. Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy because it was relatively close to Rome itself and also because of the disunity among the Germans. However, controlling both frontiers simultaneously during wartime was difficult. If the emperor was near the border in the East, the chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in
16104-509: 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, that claimed the lives of an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000, caused unprecedented devastation in the city and was effectively described by Alessandro Manzoni in his masterpiece The Betrothed . This episode was seen by many as
16287-616: The Swiss at the Battle of Marignan , the duchy was promised to the French king François I . When the Spanish Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated François I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy , which included Milan, passed to Habsburg Spain . 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 remained with
16470-526: The Tetrici were pardoned, although they were first paraded in a triumph. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire when, in 286, he elevated Maximian to the rank of Augustus (emperor) and gave him control of the Western Empire, while he continued to rule the East. In 293, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were appointed as their subordinate ( caesars ), as a way to avoid the civil unrest that had marked
16653-530: The Vandals and Africa. Not only did the Vandals pose a constant danger to coastal Italy and trade in the Mediterranean, but the province they ruled was economically vital to the survival of the West. Majorian began a campaign to fully reconquer Hispania to use it as a base for the reconquest of Africa. Throughout 459, Majorian campaigned against the Suebi in northwestern Hispania. The Vandals began to increasingly fear
16836-429: The Vandals, Alans and Suebi , to cross the river and enter Roman territory in 406. Honorius was convinced by the minister Olympius that Stilicho was conspiring to overthrow him, and so arrested and executed Stilicho in 408. Olympius headed a conspiracy that orchestrated the deaths of key individuals related to the faction of Stilicho, including his son and the families of many of his federated troops. This led many of
17019-409: The Vandals. Deprived of his fleet, Majorian had to cancel his attack on the Vandals and conclude a peace with Gaiseric. Disbanding his barbarian forces, Majorian intended to return to Rome and issue reforms, stopping at Arelate on his way. Here, Ricimer deposed and arrested him in 461, having gathered significant aristocratic opposition against Majorian. After five days of beatings and torture, Majorian
17202-477: The Visigoths in 437 and 438 but suffering a defeat himself in 439, ending the conflict in a status quo ante with a treaty. Meanwhile, pressure from the Visigoths and a rebellion by Bonifacius , the governor of Africa, induced the Vandals under King Gaiseric to cross from Spain to Tingitana in what is now Morocco in 429. They temporarily halted in Numidia in 435 before moving eastward. With Aetius occupied in Gaul,
17385-647: The Visigoths, hoping to halt their expansion. The trial and subsequent execution of Romanus , an Italian senator and friend of Ricimer, on the grounds of treachery in 470 made Ricimer hostile to Anthemius. Following two years of ill feeling, Ricimer deposed and killed Anthemius in 472, elevating Olybrius to the Western throne. During the brief reign of Olybrius, Ricimer died and his nephew Gundobad succeeded him as magister militum . After only seven months of rule, Olybrius died of dropsy . Gundobad elevated Glycerius to Western emperor. The Eastern Empire had rejected Olybrius and also rejected Glycerius, instead supporting
17568-534: The West and vice versa. This wartime opportunism plagued many ruling emperors and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors. By the time of the Crisis of the Third Century , usurpation became a common method of succession: Philip the Arab , Trebonianus Gallus and Aemilianus were all usurping generals-turned-emperors whose rule would end with usurpation by another powerful general. The idea of co-emperorship
17751-460: The West began to collapse entirely. Alaric's men sacked Rome in 410. Honorius, the younger son of Theodosius I, was declared Augustus (and as such co-emperor with his father) on 23 January in 393, at the age of 9. Upon the death of Theodosius, Honorius inherited the throne of the West at the age of ten whilst his older brother Arcadius inherited the East. The western capital was initially Mediolanum, as it had been during previous divisions, but it
17934-494: The West functioned effectively as an integrated whole, political and military developments would ultimately realign the Empire along those cultural and linguistic lines. More often than not, Greek and Latin practices (and to some extent the languages themselves) would be combined in fields such as history (e.g., those by Cato the Elder ), philosophy and rhetoric . Minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout
18117-408: The West governing briefly from Mediolanum then from Ravenna , and Arcadius as his successor in the East governing from Constantinople . In 476, after the Battle of Ravenna , the Roman army in the West suffered defeat at the hands of Odoacer and his Germanic foederati . Odoacer forced the abdication of the emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the first King of Italy . In 480, following
18300-517: The West, Attila secured peace with the Eastern court and crossed the Rhine in early 451. With Attila wreaking havoc in Gaul, Aetius gathered a coalition of Roman and Germanic forces, including Visigoths and Burgundians, and prevented the Huns from taking the city of Aurelianum , forcing them into retreat. At the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , the Roman-Germanic coalition met and defeated
18483-562: The West, while Verus spent most of his reign campaigning in the East, against Parthia . Verus accompanied Marcus at the start of the Marcomannic Wars , but died shortly after. Decades later, Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) appointed his sons Geta and Caracalla as joint heirs. However, Caracalla murdered his brother shortly after succeeding to the throne. With the assassination of the emperor Alexander Severus in March 235 by his own troops,
18666-521: The West. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the central government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, natural disasters, or epidemic outbreak was carried by ship or mounted postal service , often requiring much time to reach Rome and for Rome's orders to be returned and acted upon. Therefore, provincial governors had de facto autonomy in
18849-575: The Western Roman army by recruiting large numbers of barbarian mercenaries, among them the Gepids , Ostrogoths, Rugii , Burgundians, Huns, Bastarnae , Suebi, Scythians and Alans, and built two fleets, one at Ravenna, to combat the strong Vandalic fleet. Majorian personally led the army to wage war in Gaul, leaving Ricimer in Italy. The Gallic provinces and the Visigothic Kingdom had rebelled following
19032-481: The Western Roman government could do nothing to prevent the Vandals conquering the wealthy African provinces, culminating in the fall of Carthage on 19 October 439 and the establishment of the Vandal Kingdom . By the 400s, Italy and Rome itself were dependent on the taxes and foodstuffs from these provinces, leading to an economic crisis. With Vandal fleets becoming an increasing danger to Roman sea trade and
19215-432: The Western court had lacked true power and had been subject to Germanic aristocrats for decades, with most of its legal territory being under control of various barbarian kingdoms. With Odoacer recognising Julius Nepos, and later the Eastern emperor Zeno, as his sovereign, nominal Roman control continued in Italy. Syagrius , who had managed to preserve Roman sovereignty in an exclave in northern Gaul (a realm today known as
19398-516: The already existing ones, and announced plans to plant three million trees by 2030. Western Roman Empire In modern historiography , the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire , collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. Particularly during the period from AD 395 to 476, there were separate, coequal courts dividing
19581-713: The assassination of the previous Western emperor Julius Nepos , the Eastern emperor Zeno dissolved the Western court and proclaimed himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. The date of 476 was popularized by the 18th-century British historian Edward Gibbon as a demarcating event for the fall of the Western Roman Empire and is sometimes used to mark the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages . Odoacer's Italy and other barbarian kingdoms , many of them representing former Western Roman allies that had been granted lands in return for military assistance, would maintain
19764-480: The best examples of Neoclassical architecture in Lombardy. The Napoleonic rule of the city in 1805–1814, having established Milan as the capital of a satellite Kingdom of Italy , took steps to reshape it accordingly to its new status, with the construction of large boulevards, new squares ( Porta Ticinese by Luigi Cagnola and Foro Bonaparte by Giovanni Antonio Antolini ) and cultural institutions ( Art Gallery and
19947-423: The capable Eastern general Anthemius as Western emperor following an eighteen-month interregnum . The relationship between Anthemius and the East was good, Anthemius is the last Western emperor recorded in an Eastern law, and the two courts conducted a joint operation to retake Africa from the Vandals, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Cape Bon in 468. In addition Anthemius conducted failed campaigns against
20130-471: The capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City. Milan is also the capital of Lombardy , one of the twenty regions of Italy. Lombardy is by far the most populated region of Italy, with more than ten million inhabitants, almost one sixth of the national total. It is governed by a Regional Council, composed of 80 members elected for a five-year term. On 26 March 2018, a list of candidates of
20313-502: The city as a global capital of innovation has been instrumental in its successful bids for hosting large international events such as 2015 Expo and 2026 Winter Olympics . Milan is located in the north-western section of the Po Valley , approximately halfway between the river Po to the south and the foothills of the Alps with the great lakes ( Lake Como , Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano ) to
20496-486: The city at the sight of the approaching Vandals, only to be stoned to death by a Roman mob. Petronius had reigned only 11 weeks. With the Vandals at the gates, Pope Leo I requested that the King not destroy the ancient city or murder its inhabitants, to which Gaiseric agreed and the city gates were opened to him. Though keeping his promise, Gaiseric looted great amounts of treasure and damaged objects of cultural significance such as
20679-505: The city centre reflects the Navigli , an ancient system of navigable and interconnected canals, now mostly covered. The suburbs of the city have expanded mainly to the north, swallowing up many comuni along the roads towards Varese, Como, Lecco and Bergamo. In the 21st century the Navigli region of Milan is a highly active area with a large number of residential units, bars and restaurants. It
20862-516: The city under the name Medhelanon. According to the legend reported by Livy (writing between 27 and 9 BC), the Gaulish king Ambicatus sent his nephew Bellovesus into northern Italy at the head of a party drawn from various Gaulish tribes; Bellovesus allegedly founded the settlement in the times of the Roman monarchy, during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus . Tarquin is traditionally recorded as reigning from 616 to 579 BC, according to ancient Roman historian Titus Livy. Medhelanon, in particular,
21045-447: The city. A new, more eclectic form of architecture can be seen in buildings such as Castello Cova, built the 1910s in a distinctly neo-medieval style, evoking the architectural trends of the past. An important example of Art Deco , which blended such styles with Fascist architecture , is the huge Central railway station inaugurated in 1931. The post-World War II period saw rapid reconstruction and fast economic growth, accompanied by
21228-462: The coasts and islands of the western and central Mediterranean, Aetius coordinated a counterattack against the Vandals in 440, organizing a large army in Sicily. However, the plans for retaking Africa had to be abandoned due to the immediate need to combat the invading Huns, who in 444 were united under their ambitious king Attila . Turning against their former ally, the Huns became a formidable threat to
21411-399: The coming centuries. As such, the unofficial Western Roman Empire would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Some emperors, such as Constantine I and Theodosius I , governed, if briefly, as the sole Augustus across the Roman Empire. On the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire was divided between his two infant sons, with Honorius as his successor in
21594-513: The commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became the first Duke of Milan upon receiving the title from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans . In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti , Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was established; it took its name from St. Ambrose,
21777-642: The court back to Rome. Most western emperors from 450 until 475 reigned from Rome. The last de facto western emperor Romulus Augustulus resided in Ravenna from 475 until his deposition in 476 and Ravenna would later be the capital of both the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Exarchate of Ravenna . Despite the moved capital, economic power remained focused on Rome and its rich senatorial aristocracy which dominated much of Italy and Africa in particular. After Emperor Gallienus had banned senators from army commands in
21960-415: The creation of the Celtic sanctuary, the first residential settlements began to be built around it. Medhelanon then transformed from a simple religious center to an urban and then military centre, thus becoming a real village. The first homes were built just south of the Celtic sanctuary, near the modern Royal Palace of Milan . Subsequently, with the growth of the town centre, other important buildings for
22143-559: The deposition of Avitus, refusing to acknowledge Majorian as lawful emperor. At the Battle of Arelate , Majorian decisively defeated the Visigoths under Theoderic II and forced them to relinquish their great conquests in Hispania and return to foederati status. Majorian then entered the Rhone Valley , where he defeated the Burgundians and reconquered the rebel city of Lugdunum . With Gaul back under Roman control, Majorian turned his eyes to
22326-443: The development of art history, and has been the cradle of a number of modern art movements. There are only few remains of the ancient Roman city, notably the well-preserved Colonne di San Lorenzo . During the second half of the 4th century, Saint Ambrose , as bishop of Milan, had a strong influence on the layout of the city, reshaping the centre (although the cathedral and baptistery built in Roman times are now lost) and building
22509-590: The development of mulberry cultivation and silk processing. Following this economic growth, works such as the Sforza Castle (already existing in the Visconti era under the name of Porta Giovia Castle, but re-adapted, enlarged and completed by the Sforza family) and the Ospedale Maggiore were completed. The Sforzas also managed to attract to Milan personalities such as Leonardo da Vinci , who redesigned and improved
22692-529: The disastrous civil wars and disintegrations of the Crisis of the Third Century . He introduced the system of the Tetrarchy in 286, with two senior emperors titled Augustus , one in the East and one in the West, each with an appointed subordinate and heir titled Caesar . Though the tetrarchic system would collapse in a matter of years, the East–West administrative division would endure in one form or another over
22875-497: The east. Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals, and their disagreements would be exploited by the Gothic leader Alaric I who again rebelled in 408 following the massacre by Roman legions of thousands of barbarian families who were trying to assimilate into the Roman empire. Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to subdue Alaric's men, and both tried to use Alaric against the other half. Alaric himself tried to establish
23058-484: The emperor of the Western Empire. Odoacer accepted this condition and issued coins in the name of Julius Nepos throughout Italy. This, however, was mainly an empty political gesture, as Odoacer never returned any real power or territories to Nepos. The murder of Nepos in 480 prompted Odoacer to invade Dalmatia , annexing it to his Kingdom of Italy . By convention, the Western Roman Empire is deemed to have ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus, but
23241-545: The empire between them, the former ruling from the East and the latter from the West. However, Valerian was captured by the Sassanids at the Battle of Edessa , leaving Gallienus as sole emperor. Saloninus , Gallienus' infant son, and the praetorian prefect Silvanus resided in Colonia Agrippina (modern Cologne ) to solidify the loyalty of the local legions. Nevertheless, Postumus – the local governor of
23424-570: The end of the Theodosian dynasty , Petronius Maximus proclaimed himself emperor during the ensuing period of unrest. Petronius was not able to take effective control of the significantly weakened and unstable Empire. He broke the betrothal between Huneric, son of the Vandal king Gaiseric , and Eudocia, daughter of Valentinian III. This was seen as a just cause of war by King Gaiseric, who set sail to attack Rome. Petronius and his supporters attempted to flee
23607-648: The event shocked people across both halves of the Empire as this was the first time Rome (viewed at least as the symbolic heart of the Empire) had fallen to a foreign enemy since the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC. The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II , the successor of Arcadius, declared three days of mourning in Constantinople. Without Stilicho and following the sack of Rome, Honorius' reign grew more chaotic. The usurper Constantine III had stripped Roman Britain of its defenses when he crossed over to Gaul in 407, leaving
23790-400: The fields of art , chemicals , commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion , finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange ( Italian : Borsa Italiana ), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, having also one of
23973-491: The first of the " barbarian kingdoms ", the Visigothic Kingdom , was formed. Honorius' death in 423 was followed by turmoil until the Eastern Roman government installed Valentinian III as Western emperor in Ravenna by force of arms, with Galla Placidia acting as regent during her son's minority. Theodosius II, the Eastern emperor, had hesitated to announce the death of Honorius and in the ensuing interregnum, Joannes
24156-500: The function of the navigli and painted The Last Supper , and Bramante , who worked on the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro , on the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio and to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie , influencing the development of the Lombard Renaissance . Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico il Moro , requested the aid of Charles VIII of France against the other Italian states , eventually unleashing
24339-399: The governance of the empire into the Western provinces and the Eastern provinces with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were de facto independent; contemporary Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as
24522-574: 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. Milan's Cathedral , built between 1386 and 1877, is the largest church in the Italian Republic—the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City , a sovereign state—and
24705-481: The historical record calls this determination into question. Indeed, the deposition of Romulus Augustus received very little attention in contemporary times. Romulus was a usurper in the eyes of the Eastern Roman Empire and the remaining territories of Western Roman control outside of Italy, with the previous emperor Julius Nepos still being alive and claiming to rule the Western Empire in Dalmatia . Furthermore,
24888-458: The imperial government was not providing the military protection the northern provinces expected and needed, numerous usurpers arose in Britain, including Marcus (406–407), Gratian (407), and Constantine III who invaded Gaul in 407. Britain was effectively abandoned by the empire by 410 due to the lack of resources and the need to look after more important frontiers. The weakening of the Rhine frontier allowed multiple barbarian tribes, including
25071-497: The industrial and financial capital of Italy. Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals . Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani , Prada , Versace , Valentino , Loro Piana and Zegna . It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair , which are among
25254-536: The insurgents and organised a plebiscite that ratified by a huge majority the unification of Lombardy with Piedmont–Sardinia. But just a few months later the Austrians were able to send fresh forces that routed the Piedmontese army at the Battle of Custoza on 24 July and to reassert Austrian control over northern Italy. About ten years later, however, Italian nationalist politicians, officers and intellectuals such as Cavour , Garibaldi and Mazzini were able to gather
25437-462: The major South European rail hub for goods and passenger transport. Indeed, Milan and Venice were among the main stops of the Orient Express that started operating from 1919. Abundant hydroelectric resources allowed the development of a strong steel and textile sector and, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre. In May 1898, Milan
25620-416: The mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere" , literally "Milan to be drunk". But in the 1990s Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli , a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile and steel production. Berlusconi's Milano 2 and Milano 3 projects were
25803-488: The mid-3rd century, the senatorial elite lost all experience of – and interest in – military life. In the early 5th century the wealthy landowning elite of the Roman Senate largely barred its tenants from military service, but it also refused to approve sufficient funding for maintaining a sufficiently powerful mercenary army to defend the entire Western Empire. The West's most important military area had been northern Gaul and
25986-429: The minor province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia ). Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia (modern Sicily ) to his holdings. Upon the defeat of Mark Antony , a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire . The Empire featured many distinct cultures, all experienced a gradual Romanization . While the predominantly Greek culture of the East and the predominantly Latin culture of
26169-511: The modern Pavia ), and left early-medieval Milan to the governance of its archbishops . After the siege of the city by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence moved to Ravenna . Attila , King of the Huns , sacked and devastated the city in 452 AD. In 539 the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I . In the summer of 569
26352-411: The most important housing projects of the 1980s and 1990s in Milan and brought to the city new economical and social energy. In the early 21st century Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments over huge former industrial areas. Two new business districts, Porta Nuova and CityLife , were built in the space of a decade, radically changing the skyline of the city. Its exhibition centre moved to
26535-408: The name element -lanon is the Celtic equivalent of Latin -planum "plain", thus *Mediolanon (Latinized as Mediolānum ) meant "(settlement) in the midst of the plain". Mediolanum became the most important center of Cisalpine Gaul and, in the wake of economic development, in 49 BC, was elevated, within the Lex Roscia , to the status of municipium . The ancient Celtic settlement was, from
26718-402: The name of the Roman Republic. Governors had several duties, including the command of armies, handling the taxes of the province and serving as the province's chief judges. Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of the Roman Republic had been divided in 43 BC among the members of the Second Triumvirate : Mark Antony , Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . Antony received
26901-405: The name to the scrofa semilanuta ("half-woolly sow") an ancient emblem of the city, 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. According to this theory, the foundation of Milan
27084-441: The new political power of the cities and their will to fight against all feudal powers. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the Italian city-states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride
27267-500: The north, the Ticino river to the west and the Adda to the east. The city's land is flat, the highest point being at 122 m (400.26 ft) above sea level . The administrative comune covers an area of about 181 square kilometres (70 sq mi), with a population, in 2013, of 1,324,169 and a population density of 7,315 inhabitants per square kilometre (18,950/sq mi). The Metropolitan City of Milan covers 1,575 square kilometres (608 sq mi) and in 2015 had
27450-429: The other Italian statelets and proclaim the birth of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861. The political unification of Italy enhanced Milan's economic dominance over northern Italy. A dense rail network, whose construction had started under Austrian patronage, was completed in a brief time, making Milan the rail hub of northern Italy and, with the opening of the Gotthard (1882) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels,
27633-412: 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 Richini , and the nearby Pinacoteca Ambrosiana . Many notable churches and Baroque mansions were built in the city during this period by the architects, Pellegrino Tibaldi , Galeazzo Alessi and Richini himself. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
27816-460: The plain", or of "place between watercourses" (Celtic medhe = "in the middle, central"; land or lan = "land"), given the presence of the Olona , Lambro , Seveso rivers and the Nirone and Pudiga streams. The Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio (in the middle) and planus (plain). However, some scholars believe that lanum comes from the Celtic root lan , meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory (source of
27999-434: The popular patron saint of the city. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco I of the House of Sforza , which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance . Under the House of Sforza, Milan experienced a period of great prosperity, which in particular saw
28182-417: The population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan) is estimated between 7.5 million and 8.2 million, making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU . Milan is the economic capital of Italy, one of the economic capitals of Europe and a global financial centre . Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in
28365-410: The position would never again be divided. As such, the (eastern) Roman emperors after 480 are the successors of the western ones, albeit only in a juridical sense. These emperors would continue to rule the Roman Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, nearly a thousand years later. As 480 marks the end of the juridical division of the empire into two imperial courts, some historians refer to
28548-462: The provinces in the East: Achaea , Macedonia and Epirus (roughly modern Greece, Albania and the coast of Croatia ), Bithynia , Pontus and Asia (roughly modern Turkey ), Syria , Cyprus , and Cyrenaica . These lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great ; thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture, Greek often serving as
28731-411: The rights of pagan priests and removed the Altar of Victory from the Roman Curia , a decision which caused dissatisfaction among the traditionally pagan aristocracy of Rome. The political situation was unstable. In 383, a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian's half-brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid; in a destructive civil war
28914-459: The same time, however, several eastern provinces seceded to form the Palmyrene Empire , under the rule of Queen Zenobia . In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to reclaim Palmyra and its territory for the empire. With the East secure, his attention turned to the West, invading the Gallic Empire a year later. Aurelian decisively defeated Tetricus I in the Battle of Châlons , and soon captured Tetricus and his son Tetricus II . Both Zenobia and
29097-447: The sea. During winter daily average temperatures can fall below freezing (0 °C [32 °F]) and accumulations of snow can occur: the historic average of Milan's area is 25 centimetres (10 in) in the period between 1961 and 1990, with a record of 90 centimetres (35 in) in January 1985. In the suburbs the average can reach 36 centimetres (14 in). The city receives on average seven days of snow per year. The city
29280-410: The seat of an elegant Renaissance court surrounded by a walled hunting park. Notable architects involved in the project included the Florentine Filarete , who was commissioned to build the high central entrance tower, and the military specialist Bartolomeo Gadio. The alliance between Francesco Sforza and Florence's Cosimo de' Medici bore to Milan Tuscan models of Renaissance architecture, apparent in
29463-437: The soil , causing Milan to be one of Europe's most polluted cities. Summers in Milan are hot and humidity levels are high with peak temperatures reaching above 35 °C (95 °F). Due to the high humidity, urban heat effect and lack of wind, nighttimes often remain muggy during the summer months. Usually the summer enjoys clearer skies with an average of more than 13 hours of daylight: when precipitation occurs though, it
29646-410: The soldiers to instead join with Alaric, who returned to Italy in 409 and met little opposition. Despite attempts by Honorius to reach a settlement and six legions of Eastern Roman soldiers sent to support him, the negotiations between Alaric and Honorius broke down in 410 and Alaric sacked the city of Rome. Though the sack was relatively mild and Rome was no longer the capital of even the Western Empire,
29829-428: The spire), and the 209 m Allianz Tower , a 50-story tower. The largest parks in the central area of Milan are Sempione Park , at the north-western edge, and Montanelli Gardens , situated north-east of the city. English-style Sempione Park, built in 1890, contains the Civic Arena , the Civic Aquarium of Milan (which is the third oldest aquarium in Europe ), a steel lattice panoramic tower, an art exhibition centre,
30012-442: The supervision of Constantine II, received Italy , Africa, Illyricum , Pannonia, Macedonia , and Achaea . The provinces of Thrace, Achaea and Macedonia were shortly controlled by Dalmatius , nephew of Constantine I and a caesar , not an Augustus , until his murder by his own soldiers in 337. The West was unified in 340 under Constans, who was assassinated in 350 under the order of the usurper Magnentius . After Magnentius lost
30195-429: The symbol of Spanish bad rule and decadence and is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that 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. In 1706, the French were defeated in Ramillies and Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to
30378-529: The urban area of Milan is one of the 15 Metropolitan municipalities ( città metropolitane ), new administrative bodies fully operative since 1 January 2015. The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas the administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. In this policy framework,
30561-427: The whole empire so, by 314, began to compete against Licinius, finally defeating him in 324 at the Battle of Chrysopolis . After Constantine unified the empire, he refounded the city of Byzantium in modern-day Turkey as Nova Roma ("New Rome"), later called Constantinople , and made it the capital of the Roman Empire. Although the Tetrarchy was ended, the concept of physically dividing the Roman Empire into East and
30744-425: The world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth most starred in the world by Michelin Guide . It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015 . In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan , and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano . Milan will host
30927-405: The world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci . It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students. Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to
31110-403: Was aligned towards the heliacal rising of Antares , while the other towards the heliacal rising of Capella . The latter coincided with a Celtic spring festival celebrated on 24 March, while the heliacal rising of Antares corresponded with 11 November, which opened and closed the Celtic year and which coincided with the point where the Sun rose on the winter solstice . About two centuries after
31293-400: Was based on these early paths, and on the shape of the sanctuary, reached, in some cases, up to the 19th century and even beyond. For example, the route of the modern Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza del Duomo , Piazza Cordusio and Via Broletto, which is curvilinear, could correspond to the south side of the ellipse of the ancient sanctuary of Medhelanon. One axis of the Medhelanon sanctuary
31476-412: Was beheaded near the river Iria . The final collapse of the Empire in the West was marked by increasingly ineffectual puppet emperors dominated by their Germanic magistri militum . The most pointed example of this is Ricimer , who effectively became a "shadow emperor" following the depositions of Avitus and Majorian. Unable to take the throne for himself due to his barbarian heritage, Ricimer appointed
31659-510: Was developed around a sanctuary , which was the oldest area of the village. The sanctuary, which consisted of a wooded area in the shape of an ellipse with a central clearing, was aligned according to precise astronomical points. For this reason, it was used for religious gatherings, especially in particular celebratory moments. The sanctuary of Medhelanon was an ellipse with axes of 443 m (1,453 ft) and 323 m (1,060 ft) located near Piazza della Scala . The urban planning profile
31842-734: Was first tested by Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180), who decided to rule alongside his adoptive brother Lucius Verus . There was, however, much precedent. The consulate of the Republic was a twin magistracy, and earlier emperors had often had a subordinate lieutenant with many imperial offices. Many emperors had planned a joint succession in the past— Augustus planned to leave Gaius and Lucius Caesar as joint emperors on his death; Tiberius wished to have Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus do so as well; as Claudius with Nero and Britannicus . All of these arrangements had ended in failure, either through premature death (Gaius and Lucius) or murder (Gemellus and Britannicus). Marcus Aurelius ruled mostly from
32025-423: Was killed. With the Roman legions withdrawn, northern Gaul became increasingly subject to Frankish influence, the Franks naturally adopting a leading role in the region. In 418, Honorius granted southwestern Gaul ( Gallia Aquitania ) to the Visigoths as a vassal federation. Honorius removed the local imperial governors, leaving the Visigoths and the provincial Roman inhabitants to conduct their own affairs. As such,
32208-446: Was moved to Ravenna in 401 upon the entry of the Visigothic king Alaric I into Italy. Ravenna, protected by abundant marshes and strong fortifications, was far easier to defend and had easy access to the imperial fleet of the Eastern Empire but made it more difficult for the Roman military to defend the central parts of Italy from regular barbarian incursions. Ravenna would remain the western capital until 450 when Valentinian III moved
32391-435: Was nominated as Western emperor. Joannes' rule was short and the forces of the East defeated and executed him in 425. After a violent struggle with several rivals, and against Placidia's wish, Aetius rose to the rank of magister militum . Aetius was able to stabilize the Western Empire's military situation somewhat, relying heavily on his Hunnic allies. With their help Aetius undertook extensive campaigns in Gaul, defeating
32574-444: Was often perceived as being of dubious loyalty, primarily due its role in court intrigues and in overthrowing several emperors, including Pertinax and Aurelian . Following their example, the legions at the borders increasingly participated in civil wars . For instance, legions stationed in Egypt and the eastern provinces would see significant participation in the civil war of 218 between Emperor Macrinus and Elagabalus . As
32757-518: Was often shrouded in thick cloud or fog during winter, although the removal of rice paddies from the southern neighbourhoods and the urban heat island effect have greatly reduced this occurrence since the turn of the 21st century. Occasionally, the Foehn winds cause the temperatures to rise unexpectedly: on 22 January 2012 the daily high reached 16 °C (61 °F) while on 22 February 2012 it reached 21 °C (70 °F). Air pollution levels rise significantly in wintertime when cold air clings to
32940-505: Was rapidly rebuilt, with the construction of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower , that soon became the symbols of this new era of prosperity. The economic prosperity was, however, overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of lead , when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism . The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when
33123-427: Was responsible for the significant renovations carried out in Milan during the 18th century. This urban and artistic renewal included the establishment of Teatro alla Scala , inaugurated in 1778, and the renovation of the Royal Palace . The late 1700s Palazzo Belgioioso by Giuseppe Piermarini and Royal Villa of Milan by Leopoldo Pollack , later the official residence of Austrian viceroys, are often regarded among
33306-477: Was shaken by the Bava Beccaris massacre , a riot related to soaring cost of living. Milan's northern location in Italy closer to Europe, secured also a leading role for the city on the political scene. It was in Milan that Benito Mussolini built his political and journalistic careers, and his fascist Blackshirts rallied for the first time in the city's Piazza San Sepolcro ; here the future Fascist dictator launched his March on Rome on 28 October 1922. During
33489-411: Was well fortified and located at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. The site had been acknowledged for its strategic importance already by emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla , more than a century prior. In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and Constantius Chlorus' grandson Julian , who had served as Constantius II's Caesar, assumed power. Julian was killed in 363 in
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