OVERVIEW:
Milan (Italian: Milano; Western Lombard: Milan (listen)) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy, and is one of the most highly developed urban centres in Europe. Milan is also renowned as one of the world capitals of design and fashion. Indeed the English word milliner is derived from the name of the city. The Lombard metropolis is famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along via Montenapoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall). The city hosted the World Exposition in 1906 and has submitted a bid to BIE to host the Universal Expo in 2015. Inhabitants of Milan are referred to as "Milanese" (Italian: Milanesi or informally Meneghini or Ambrosiani). The Olona river runs through Milan.
The city proper (Comune di Milano) has a population of 1,303,437 inhabitants (2006). Between 1991 to 2001, the city proper has lost 113,084 inhabitants (8.3 percent), mostly due to suburban sprawl and expulsion of population from the inner city centre, which is now almost fully dedicated to offices and commerce. The population of the urban area, that coincides with the Province of Milan, is estimated as of 2006 to be 3,884,481. Finally, the official population of the Milan Metropolitan area counts over 7.4 million residents, the largest in Italy. As of 2006, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 292,204 foreign-born immigrants live in Milan Urban Area, equal to 7.6% of total population.
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