History of Milan

The birth of Milan dates back to the VI century B.C., by the Celtic population called “Insubri”.
The name of the city derives from the Latin Mediolanum, which means “in the middle of lowland”. In fact it is situated in a central position, in the middle of the “Padana” lowland. At the beginning of the III sec B.C Milan was conquered by the Romans, and became an independent province (municipium) under the domain of Rome.
Its importance grew rapidly during the Imperial age: thanks to its geographic position the city became a core road to reach the north of Italy, as well as a considerable military post against the barbaric invasions. Imperial residence in the III century, in the middle of the IV century it was the 2nd largest city in the West area after Rome. In Mediolanum the Christian faith spread rapidly, and this made it one of the most important centres for this religion.  
The evidence of the Roman domain can be found still nowadays in some streets of the city centre, especially behind Cordusio square towards via Torino and corso  Magenta.
As the Roman Empire declined, also Milan lost its importance and centrality, which definitely ended with the invasion of the Longobard population in the VI century. Its renewal started after the beginning of the domination by the Carolingian dinasty in the VIII century A.C. In the same period the Ambrosian rite imposed itself and it is still alive today, to testify the central role of the city also in the religion. Meanwhile the commerce started its development, leading to the seigniories’ period, that increased their independence from the Empire. Milan continued its geographical expansion with a new town wall, which included the six new access doors to the city (the so called “Porte”), that are in some cases still visible nowadays (Porta Garibladi, Porta Venezia, Porta Vittoria ,Porta Romana, Porta Ticinese).
A system of channels was built around 1300 both for defensive and agricultural or craftsman like uses: this is the birth of the famous “Navigli” (Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Martesana), which define the aspect of the city and have become an attraction for the dinners, aperitifs and nights of Milanese people as well as tourists. During 1400 the city assists at the handing over of power from the Visconti to the Sforza seigniory; Francesco Sforza becomes the Duke of Milan. Therefore a new period of prosperity starts, with the boom of handicraft, commerce and agriculture. Visible architectural signs of this phase are the Maggiore hospital (now seat of the State University), the Lazzaretto, once the place were the plague-stricken were banished (it hosts the Rotonda della Besana, where exhibitions are held and during the summertime, it becomes open air cinema), the Sforzesco Castle (huge monument and seat of different art galleries like the Museum of Ancient art, which hosts a famous sculpture made by Michelangelo, called Pietà Rondanini), different Bramante’s (Santa Maria delle Grazie’s apse and Sant’Ambrogio’s closters, now seat of the Catholic Univesity) and Filarete’s buildings ( the tower of the Sforzesco Castle). During 1500 Milan is in the middle of a fight between the reign of France and the Hapsburg family.
At the beginning of the XVII century, a terrible plague causes the death of thousands of people and a deep decline, especially hard for the economical growth. The most important monument of the period is the Spanish Wall, of circular shape which still today represents the first borderline of  the city centre. The beginning of 1700 is characterized by the change between the Spanish and the Hapsburgic power. Milan starts a new expansionary phase, with an extremely rich cultural life around 1770, which most representative examples are the Enlightenment newspaper “Il Caffè” and Giuseppe Piermarini’s architecture, who built among the others, the “Villa Reale” in Monza (the city where every year in September the F1 GP takes place), that is still one of the XVIII century’s architectural milestones. Always in this period the city assists to the birth of the public library and Brera art Gallery. With Napoleon Milan is under the French domain, the population growths, and the city becomes the capital of the Cisalpine Republic, stretching its cultural and economic supremacy. Napoleon builds a system of large roads which bound the city centre called “Circonvallazione”. During the XIX century Milan is again under the Hapsburg family and this is disliked both by enlightened bourgeoisie and by the population. In 1848, the people rebelled against the government with the famous “five days of Milan”, but the insurrection was tragically repressed.
In 1861 the Italian reign was born. From the unification until nowadays, the development of the city has been continuous and constant, leading to the reinforcement of the industrial production, which has won the city the name of “Italy’s moral capital”. The great economic growth makes the city very attractive from different points of view. Italy’s moral capital is, without any doubt, different from the other typical artistic Italian cities. It is the centre of the business life: it hosts the seat of the stock Exchange (in Affari square), is famous all over the world for its fashion, is the most important Italian industial city, its service sector is highly specialized and it is also a cultural pole.
In Milan most of the world of publishing has its headquarters, as well as the second national TV network. Despite this fact, its dimensions have not changed in a considerable way; the city, without the suburbs, counts about 1500000 inhabitants, which reach 4000000 if  the surrounding towns are also included.