Lombardy

Pizzo Coca is the highest peak in the Bergamasque Alps (3,050 m (10,010 ft))

The orography of Lombardy is characterised by three distinct belts; a northern mountainous belt constituted by the Alpine relief, a central piedmont area of mostly alluvial pebbly soils, and the Lombard section of the Padan Plain in the south of the region.

The most important mountainous area is the Alpine zone, which includes the Lepontine and Rhaetian Alps—Piz Bernina (4,020 m (13,190 ft)), the Bergamo Alps, the Ortler Alps and the Adamello massif. It is followed by the Alpine foothills zone Prealpi, the main peaks of which are the Grigna Group (2,410 m (7,910 ft)), Resegone 1,875 m (6,152 ft), and Presolana (2,521 m (8,271 ft)).[10]

The plains of Lombardy, which are formed by alluvial deposits, can be divided into the Alta—an upper, permeable ground zone in the north—and the Bassa, a lower zone dotted by the line of fontanili, spring waters rising from impermeable ground. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above is the small sub-region of Oltrepò Pavese, which is formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River.

The Adda, the longest river within the region and tributary of the Po River

The Po river marks the southern border of the region for about 210 km (130 mi); its major tributaries are the Ticino River, which rises in the Bedretto valley in Switzerland and joins the Po near Pavia, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio.

The numerous lakes of Lombardy are all of glacial origin and are located in the northern highlands. From west to east, these are: Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano (both shared with Switzerland), Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, and Lake Garda (the largest lake in Italy). South of the Alps are a succession of low hills of morainic origin that were formed during the Last Glacial Period and small, barely fertile plateaux with typical heaths and conifer woods. A minor mountainous area the Oltrepò Pavese lies in the Apennines range south of the Po.

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)

The plains have been intensively cultivated for centuries, and little of the original environment remains. The most common trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow and hornbeam. In the area of the foothills lakes, however, olive, cypresses and larches grow, as do varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolia, azalea and acacias. Numerous species of endemic flora in the Prealpine area include some species of saxifrage, Lombardy garlic, groundsel and bellflowers.

The highlands are characterised by the typical vegetation of the Italian Alps. At and below about 1,100 m (3,600 ft), oaks or broadleaf trees grow; on the mountain slopes between2,000 and 2,100 m (6,600 and 6,900 ft), beech trees grow at the lowest limits with conifer woods higher up. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summit zone beyond 2,200 m (7,200 ft).

Lombardy includes many protected areas. The most important are Stelvio National Park—the largest Italian natural park, with typically alpine wildlife such as red deer, roe deer, ibex, chamois, foxes, ermine and golden eagles; and the Ticino Valley Natural Park, which was instituted in 1974 on the Lombard side of the Ticino River to protect one of the last major examples of fluvial forest in northern Italy.

Other parks in the region are the Campo dei Fiori and the Cinque Vette Park, both of which are located in the Province of Varese.

Moraine of Lake Garda

Lombardy has a wide array of climates due to variance in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. The climate is mainly humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), especially in the plains, though with significant variations to the Köppen model, especially in the normally long, damp, and cold winters. There is high seasonal temperature variation; in Milan, average temperature is 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) in January and 24 °C (75 °F) in July. The plains are often subject to fog during the coldest months.[11]

In the Alpine foothills with oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb), numerous lakes have a mitigating influence, allowing typically Mediterranean crops (olive, citrus fruit) to grow. In the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental (Köppen Dfb). In the valleys, it is relatively mild while it can be severely cold with copious snowfalls above 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

Precipitation is more intense in the Prealpine zone, up to 1,500 to 2,000 mm (59.1 to 78.7 in) annually, but is also abundant n the plains and alpine zones, with an average of 600 to 850 mm (23.6 to 33.5 in) annually. Average annual rainfall is 827 mm (32.6 in).[12]

The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica are among the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world.[13]

It is thought from archaeological findings of ceramics, arrows, axes, and carved stones, the area of current-day Lombardy has been settled at least since the 2nd millennium BC. Well-preserved rock drawings left by ancient Camuni in the Valcamonica depicting animals, people, and symbols were made over 8,000 years before the Iron Age,[14] based on about 300,000 records.[15]

The many artifacts found in a necropolis near[Lake Maggiore and the River Ticino demonstrate the presence of the Golasecca Bronze Age culture that prospered in the western Lombardy between the 9th and the 4th centuries BC. In the following centuries, Lombardy was inhabited by different peoples; the Etruscans founded the city of Mantua and spread the use of writing. It was seat of the Celtic Canegrate culture starting from the 13th century BC, and later of the Celtic Golasecca culture. From the 5th century BC, the area was invaded by more Celtic Gallic tribes coming from north of the Alps. These people settled in several cities including Milan and extended their rule to the Adriatic Sea. Celtic development was halted by the Roman expansion in the Po Valley from the 3rd century BC. After centuries of struggle, in 194 BC, the entirety of modern-day Lombardy became a Roman province called Gallia Cisalpina—"Gaul on the inner side (with respect to Rome) of the Alps".

The Roman culture and language overwhelmed the former civilisation in the following years, and Lombardy became one of the most-developed and richest areas of Italy with the construction of roads, and the development of agriculture and trade. Important figures were born here, such as Pliny the Elder (in Como) and Virgil (in Mantua). In late antiquity the strategic role of Lombardy was emphasised by the temporary move of the capital of the Western Empire to Mediolanum (Milan). Here, in 313 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine issued the famous Edict of Milan that gave freedom of confession to all religions within the Roman Empire.

For centuries, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used in the Coronation of the King of Italy.

During and after the fall of the Western Empire, Lombardy heavily suffered from destruction brought about by a series of invasions by tribal peoples. After 540, Pavia become the permanent capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom,the fixed site of the court and the royal treasury.[16] The last and most effective invasion was that of the Germanic Lombards or Longobards, whose nation migrated to the region from the Carpathian basin in fear of the conquering Pannonian Avars in 568. The Lombards' long-lasting reign, with its capital in Pavia, gave the current name to the region. There was a close relationship between the Frankish, Bavarian and Lombard nobility for many centuries.

After the initial struggles, relationships between the Lombard people and the Gallo-Roman peoples improved. The Lombard language and culture was integrated with the Latin culture, leaving evidence in many names, the legal code and laws. The Lombards became intermixed with the Gallo-Roman population owing to their relatively smaller number.[17] The end of Lombard rule came in 774, when the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered Pavia, deposed Desiderius the last Lombard king, and annexed the Kingdom of Italy—mostly northern and central present-day Italy—to his newly established Holy Roman Empire. The former Lombard dukes and nobles were replaced by other German vassals, prince-bishops and marquises. The entire northern part of the Italian peninsula continued to be called "Lombardy" and its population "Lombards" throughout the following centuries.

San Michele Maggiore, Pavia, where almost all the kings of Italy were crowned up to Frederick Barbarossa.

In the 10th century, Lombardy, although formally under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, being included in the kingdom of Italy, of which Pavia remained the capital until 1024, however, gradually, starting from the last decades of the 11th century was in fact divided in a multiplicity of small, autonomous city-states, the medieval communes. The 11th century marked a significant boom in the region's economy, due to improved trading and, most importantly, agricultural conditions, with arms manufacture a significant factor. In a similar way to other areas of Italy, this led to a growing self-acknowledgement of the cities, whose increasing richness made them able to defy the traditional feudal supreme power, represented by the German emperors and their local legates. This process reached its apex in the 12th and 13th centuries, when different Lombard Leagues formed by allied cities of Lombardy, usually led by Milan, managed to defeat the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick I, at Legnano, but not his grandson Frederick II, at Battle of Cortenuova. Subsequently, among the various local city-states, a procession s of consolidation took place, and by the end of the 14th century, two signoria emerged as rival hegemons in Lombardy: Milan and Mantua.

Member cities of the first and second Lombard League

Mantua as it appeared in 1575.

In the 15th century, the Duchy of Milan was a major political, economical and military force at the European level. Milan and Mantua became two centres of the Renaissance whose culture, with men such as Leonardo da Vinci and Mantegna, and works of art (e.g. Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper) were highly regarded. The enterprising class of the communes extended its trade and banking activities well into northern Europe: "Lombard" designated the merchant or banker coming from northern Italy (e.g. Lombard Street in London). The name "Lombardy" came to designate the whole of Northern Italy until the 15th century and sometimes later. From the 14th century onwards, the instability created by the unceasing internal and external struggles ended in the creation of noble seigniories, the most significant of which were those of the Viscontis (later Sforzas) in Milan and of the Gonzagas in Mantua. This richness, however, attracted the now more organised armies of national powers such as France and Austria, which waged a lengthy battle for Lombardy in the late 15th to early 16th centuries.

The Consulta of the République cisalpine receives the First Consul on 26 January 1802

After the decisive Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan became a possession of the Habsburgs of Spain: the new rulers did little to improve the economy of Lombardy, instead imposing a growing series of taxes needed to support their unending series of European wars. The eastern part of modern Lombardy, with cities like Bergamo and Brescia, was under the Republic of Venice, which had begun to extend its influence in the area from the 14th century onwards (see also Italian Wars). Between the middle of the 15th century and the battle of Marignano in 1515, the northern part of east Lombardy from Airolo to Chiasso (modern Ticino), and the Valtellina valley came under possession of the old Swiss Confederacy.

Pestilences (like that of 1628/1630[18] described by Alessandro Manzoni in his I Promessi Sposi) and the generally declining conditions of Italy's economy in the 17th and 18th centuries halted the further development of Lombardy. In 1706 the Austrians came to power and introduced some economic and social measures which granted a certain recovery.

Austrian rule was interrupted in the late 18th century by the French armies; under Napoleon, Lombardy became the centre of the Cisalpine Republic and of the Kingdom of Italy, both being puppet states of France's First Empire, having Milan as capital and Napoleon as head of state. During this period Lombardy took back Valtellina from Switzerland.

The Five Days of Milan, 1848.

The restoration of Austrian rule in 1815, as the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, was characterised by the struggle with the new ideals introduced by the Napoleonic era.

The popular republic established by the 1848 revolution was short-lived, its suppression leading to renewed Austrian rule. This came to a decisive end when Lombardy was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy 1859 as a result of the Second Italian War of Independence from the Austrian Empire. When annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1859 Lombardy achieved its present-day territorial shape by adding the Oltrepò Pavese (formerly the southern part of the Province of Novara) to the Province of Pavia.

The Lombardy region was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, in which Italy was one of the worst affected countries in Europe. Several towns were quarantined from 22 February after community transmission was documented in Lombardy and Veneto the previous day. The entire Lombardy region was placed under lockdown on 8 March,[19] followed by all of Italy the following day,[20] making Italy the first country to implement a nationwide lockdown in response to the epidemic, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March. The lockdown was ultimately extended twice, and the Lombardy region toughened restrictions on 22 March, banning outdoor exercise and the use of vending machines,[21] but from the beginning of May, following a reported decrease in the number of active cases, restrictions gradually began to be relaxed.[22]

The productivity of agriculture is enhanced by a well-developed use of fertilisers and the traditional abundance of water, boosted since the Middle Ages by the construction of a wide net of irrigation systems, partly designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Lower plains are characterised by fodder crops, which are mowed up to eight times a year, cereals (rice, wheat and maize) and sugar beet. Lombardy is one of the main European regions for rice production and, together with Piedmont, produces 93% of Italian rice. Cultivation is concentrated in the provinces of Pavia (84,000 hectares), Milan (14,000 hectares), Lodi (2,000 hectares) and Mantua (1,200 hectares).[66] 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 and wine.

Lombardy is home of very intensive animal breading and is leading in dairy cows (36%) and pigs (50%) heritage. Cattle is source of quality milk (ca. 30% of Italian milk production),[67] which use to produce different types of cheese (4,715,130 t, ca. 36% of Italian total):[67]

• 
  A rice field near Pavia.
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  Grana Padano (granular cheese)
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  Mascarpone (cream cheese)
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  Taleggio (semi-soft cheese)
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  Gorgonzola (blue-veined cheese)
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  Bitto (hard cheese)
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  Provolone Valpadana (pasta filata cheese)

Black Caviar

Vineyards cover 26,951 ha. The most important wine is sparkling wine DOCG Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese which are produced with the same traditional method as Champagnem as opposed to other Italian sparkling wines which use charmat method. Lombardy ranks 9 of 20 in production of DOC and DOCG wines with 877.351 hl.[68] Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 15 Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 3 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and 13 Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) designations.[69]

The region annually produces around 1.4 million hectolitres of wine,[70] more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.[71]

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  Franciacorta Rose
• 
  Bottle of Franciacorta
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  Franciacorta Ferghettina

Brescia is also the homeland of Italian caviar. The world's largest sturgeon farm is located in Calvisano, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the city centre,[72] producing 25 tonnes of caviar annually, which is exported worldwide.[73]

The main activity in Canneto sull'Oglio is the nursery production of broad-leaved plants, to which a large part of the municipal agricultural land is dedicated. Together with the neighboring municipalities, the "Cannetese Nursery District" has been created which, on land covering approximately 2,500 hectares, produces an annual turnover of around 150 million euros.[74]

Italy is a world leading exporter of heavy helicopters (over 2,000 kg) with market share ca. 30%.[75] Lombardy is home of Leonardo Helicopters Division responsible for ca. 1/3 company's orders[76] (ex-AgustaWestland) and plant of Leonardo Aircraft Division (ex-Aermacchi).[77] The main design, production and training facilities of helicopters located in Cascina Costa di Samarate, Vergiate and Sesto Calende. Aircraft Division manufactures military training aircraft in Venegono Superiore.[77]

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  AgustaWestland AW109
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  AgustaWestland AW169
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  AgustaWestland AW189
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  AgustaWestland AW139
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  Aermacchi M-345
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  Aermacchi M-346

The world oldest firearms manufacturer, Beretta, is located in Gardone Val Trompia. There are also other manufacturers in the region such as Tanfoglio and Pedersoli. Ammunition is produced by Fiocchi. The former OTO Melara, now part of Leonardo Electronics Division in Brescia, produces small calibre naval and airborne weapons.[77]

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  Beretta 92
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  Beretta ARX160
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  Tanfoglio Combat
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  OTO Melara RSS Valour 76mm
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  OTO Melara Hitrole

There is no longer any automotive production in Lombardy, all the factories of mass-market manufacturers Alfa Romeo,[78] Autobianchi,[79] Innocenti[80] having been closed, abandoned, or demolished. But there is production of light trucks by Iveco Daily in Suzzara[81] and medium-duty trucks by Iveco EuroCargo in Brescia.[82] Tractors are made by Same-Deutz Fahr (Same, Lamborghini) in Treviglio and BCS Group in Abbiategrasso.

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  Iveco Daily VII.Generation
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  Iveco EuroCargo IV.Generation
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  Same Iron 210
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  Lamborghini R6.150
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  BCS Valiant
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  BCS Vivid

Motorcycles from Lombardy:

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  Moto Guzzi V85 TT (Piaggio)
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  Moto Guzzi V7 Classic (Piaggio)
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  MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800
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  MV Agusta Brutale 1090

The best-known automotive parts suppliers are Brembo, (Bergamo) (ceramic brake systems);[83] Pirelli, (Milan) (tyres);[84] and Magneti Marelli, (Corbetta) (electronic systems, powertrain).[85] [83]

The largest European semiconductor company, STMicroelectronics, has 5,600 employees in a suburb of Milan: Agrate Brianza (4,500 empl.) and Cornaredo (1,100 empl.) with R&D and production of microchips for general purposes.[86]

SAES Getters, Lainate produces getters, alkaline metal dispensers, cathodes and materials for thermal management. Their products are employed in various devices such as X-ray tubes, microwave tubes, solid state lasers, electron sources, photomultipliers, radiofrequency amplification systems, night vision devices, pressure sensors, gyroscopes for navigation systems and MEMS devices.[87]

Magneti Marelli has headquarters and manufactures automotive electronics in Corbetta.[85]

Leonardo Electronics Division in Nerviano designs and develops airborne radar and computers, space equipment.[77]

Candy Hoover[88] and Whirlpool (brands: Whirlpool, Indesit, Ariston, Hot Point, Ignis) make home appliances in Lombardy.

Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world, where the sector contains approximately 12,000 companies, 800 showrooms, and 6,000 sales outlets; the city hosts the headquarters of global fashion houses such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Luxottica, Prada, Versace, Valentino, and Zegna. The best-known high-class shopping district is Quadrilatero della moda.

Castel Goffredo, in the Province of Mantua, is known locally as the "city of the stocking", an important district for the production of women's hosiery. Fourteen other communities also belonging to this district include Acquafredda, Asola, Casalmoro, Casaloldo, Casalromano, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Ceresara, Isola Dovarese, Mariana Mantovana, Medole, Piubega, Remedello, Solferino and Visano.

Additionally, there is the button industrial district of Grumello del Monte (Mabo Group)[74] and the lingerie industrial district of Val Camonica.[74]

There is an industrial district of furniture around Brianza, which has an annual turnover of about €2 billion from 1,700 companies.[89] The furniture factories, which have about 40,000 employees, are mainly concentrated in Lissone (the first exhibition center in Europe since the 1960s), Meda, Cantù, and Mariano Comense. Other important production centers are Giussano, Seveso, and Seregno.[74]

This district has a close relations with Milan's metadistrict of design. A number of large furniture exhibitions take place in Milan, including "Salone del Mobile Milano".[90]

The unemployment rate stood at 5.0% in 2020. Regional unemployment was one of the lowest in Italy.[91]

The region of Lombardy is divided in 11 administrative provinces, 1 metropolitan city and 1,530 communes.

The provinces/metropolitan cities of Lombardy

Largest cities or towns in Lombardy Source: ISTAT;[100] estimates for 31 December 2019
	Rank		Province	Pop.	Rank		Province	Pop.
Milan Brescia	1	Milan	Milan	1,396,059	11	Cremona	Cremona	72,672	Monza Bergamo
	2	Brescia	Brescia	199,597	12	Vigevano	Pavia	63,623
	3	Monza	Monza	124,051	13	Legnano	Milan	60,336
	4	Bergamo	Bergamo	121,178	14	Gallarate	Varese	53,934
	5	Como	Como	85,915	15	Rho	Milan	51,323
	6	Busto Arsizio	Varese	83,909	16	Mantua	Mantua	49,440
	7	Sesto San Giovanni	Milan	81,841	17	Lecco	Lecco	48,173
	8	Varese	Varese	80,645	18	Cologno Monzese	Milan	48,030
	9	Cinisello Balsamo	Milan	76,264	19	Paderno Dugnano	Milan	47,467
	10	Pavia	Pavia	73,334	20	Lissone	Monza	46,445

The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica

The Last Supper, Convent of Sta. Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy (1499), by Leonardo da Vinci

The Fortified City of Bergamo

Remains of Roman forum in Brescia

There are nine UNESCO World Heritage sites wholly or partially located in Lombardy.[103] Some of these comprise several individual objects in different locations. One of the entries has been listed as natural heritage and the others are cultural heritage sites.

At Monte San Giorgio, on the border with Swiss canton Ticino just south of Lake Lugano, a wide range of marine Triassic fossils have been found. During the Triassic period, some 240 million years ago, the area was a shallow tropical lagoon. Fossils include reptiles, fish and crustaceans and also some insects.

Two sites are of pre-historic origin. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date back to a period between 8000 BC and 1000 BC, covering prehistoric periods from the Epipaleolithic/Mesolithic to the Iron Age. The engravings show depictions of a wide range of topics including agricultural and war scenes alongside more abstract symbols.

The multi-centred heritage site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps includes 111 individual objects in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Slovenia, of which ten are located in Lombardy. Each of these objects consists of remnants of buildings erected on wooden piles in sub-alpine rivers, lakes and wetlands, built between 5000 BC and 500 BC. In general, only the submerged wooden parts have been preserved in the alluvial sediment, although in some places pile buildings have been reconstructed.

Another multi-centred site, Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568–774 A.D.), comprises seven locations across mainland Italy which illustrate the history of the Lombard period which has given the region its name. Two of the individual sites are in the modern region of Lombardy: the fortifications (the castrum and the Torba Tower) and the church of Santa Maria foris portas ("outside the gates") with its Byzantinesque frescoes at Castelseprio, and the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia at Brescia. The UNESCO site of Brescia also includes the remains of its Roman forum, the best-preserved in Northern Italy.[104][105]

The Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci represent architectural and painting styles of the Renaissance period of the 15th century. The towns of Mantua and Sabbioneta are also listed as a combined World Heritage site relating to this period, here focussing more on town planning aspects of the time than on architectural detail. While Mantua was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries according to Renaissance principles, Sabbioneta was planned as a new town in the 16th century.

The Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy are a group of nine sites in northwest Italy, of which two are in Lombardy. The concept of holy mountains can also be found elsewhere in Europe. These sites were created as centres of pilgrimage by placing chapels in the natural landscape and were loosely modelled on the topography of Jerusalem. In Lombardy, Sacro Monte del Rosario di Varese and Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso, built in the early to mid-17th century, mark the architectural transition from the late Renaissance to the Baroque style.

Crespi d'Adda is a company town founded in 1878 to accommodate workers of a local textile mill. At its height, the town was home to 3,200 employees and their families.

Parco Naturalistico-Archeologico della Rocca di Manerba del Garda, a fortress of Manerba del Garda.

The Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes is mostly located in the Swiss canton Graubünden, but also extends over the border into Tirano. The site is listed because of the complex railway engineering (tunnels, viaducts and avalanche galleries) necessary to take the narrow-gauge railway across the main chain of the Alps. The two railway lines were opened in several stages between the years of 1904 and 1910.

The Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar is a transnational system of fortifications built by the Republic of Venice on its mainland domains (Stato da Terra) and its territories stretching along the Adriatic coast (Stato da Mar). This site includes the Fortified City of Bergamo.

Lombardy contains numerous museums (over 330) of different types (e.g. ethnographic, historical, technical-scientific, artistic and naturalistic) which testify to the historical-cultural and artistic development of the region. Among the most famous ones are the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci" (Milan), the Accademia Carrara (Bergamo), the Mille Miglia, the Santa Giulia Museum (both in Brescia), the Volta Temple, the Villa Olmo (both in Como), the Stradivari Museum (Cremona), the Palazzo Te (Mantua), the Pavia Civic Museums, the University History Museum, University of Pavia, the Natural History Museum (both in Pavia), the Museum Sacred Art of the Nativity, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (both in Gandino), and the Royal Villa of Monza (Monza).

Rice is popular in Lombardy; the region is the largest in Europe for rice production and in particular the province of Pavia, where over 84,000 hectares are cultivated with rice, so much so that the province alone produces as much rice as the entirety of Spain,[106] often found in soups as well as risotti, such as "risotto alla milanese", with saffron. In the city of Monza, a popular recipe also adds pieces of sausages to the risotto, while in Pavia they feature Carthusian risotto, according to the legend created by the monks of the Certosa, based on crayfish, carrots and onions, risotto with eye beans or a version with sausage and bonarda, and risotto with common hops (ürtis in pavese dialect). Polenta is also common throughout the region. Regional cheeses include Robiola, Crescenza, Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Grana Padano (the plains of central and southern Lombardy allow intensive cattle-raising). Butter and cream are used. Single pot dishes, which take less work to prepare, are popular. Common types of pasta include Casoncelli in Brescia and Bergamo and Pizzoccheri in Valtellina. In Mantua, festivals feature tortelli di zucca (ravioli with pumpkin filling) accompanied by melted butter and followed by turkey stuffed with chicken or other stewed meats.[107] Among typical regional desserts is Nocciolini di Canzo—dry biscuits.

Grana Padano DPO

Gorgonzola cheese takes its name from the homonymous city near Milan

Risotto alla milanese with ossobuco

Tortelli di zucca with butter and sage

• Casoncelli
• Carpaccio di Bresaola
• Pizzoccheri (tagliatelle of buckwheat and wheat, laced with butter, green vegetables, potatoes, sage and garlic, topped with Casera cheese)
• Risotto alla milanese
• Zuppa pavese
• Tortelli di zucca (pumpkin-filled pasta)
• Polenta (eaten also in its taragna variant in the Northern part of the region)
• Ossobuco
• Cotoletta (cutlet) alla milanese
• Cassoeula
• Lo Spiedo Bresciano – spit roast of different cuts of meat with butter and sage
• Salamella (Italian Sausage without fennel or anise, always served grilled)
• Salame d'oca di Mortara (goose salami)
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Taleggio cheese
• Stracchino cheese
• Bitto cheese
• Rosa Camuna cheese
• Grana Padano cheese
• Mascarpone
• Panettone
• Sbrisolona cake
• Amaretti di Saronno
• Torrone
• Mostarda

• Franciacorta
• Nebbiolo red
• Bellavista
• Santi
• Nino Negri
• Bonarda Lombardy
• Inferno (Valtellina)
• Grumello (Valtellina)
• Sassella (Valtellina)

The auditorium of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Besides Milan, the Lombardy region has 11 other provinces, most of them with equally great musical traditions. Bergamo is famous for being the birthplace of Gaetano Donizetti and home of the Teatro Donizetti; Brescia hosts the impressive 1709 Teatro Grande; Cremona is regarded as the birthplace of the commonly used violin and is home to several of the most prestigious luthiers in the world; and Mantua was one of the founding and most important cities in 16th- and 17th-century opera and classical music.

Other cities such as Lecco, Lodi, Varese and Pavia (Teatro Fraschini) also have rich musical traditions, but Milan is the hub and centre of the Lombard musical scene. It was the workplace of Giuseppe Verdi, one of the most famous and influential opera composers of the 19th century, and boasts a variety of acclaimed theatres, such as the Piccolo Teatro and the Teatro Arcimboldi; however, the most famous is the 1778 Teatro alla Scala (popularly La Scala), one of the most important and prestigious operahouses in the world.

Lombard is widely used in Lombardy, in diglossia with Italian. Lombard is a language[108] belonging to the Gallo-Italic group, within the Romance languages.[109] It is a cluster of homogeneous varieties used by at least 3,500,000 native speakers in Lombardy and some areas of neighbouring regions, notably the eastern side of Piedmont and Southern Switzerland (cantons of Ticino and Graubünden).[109]

The Lombard language should not be confused with that of the Lombards – Lombardic language, a Germanic language extinct since the Middle Ages.

Dolce & Gabbana is headquartered in Milan.

Lombardy has always been an important centre for silk and textile production, notably the cities of Pavia, Vigevano and Cremona, but Milan is the region's most important centre for clothing and high fashion. In 2009, Milan was regarded as the world fashion capital, even surpassing New York, Paris and London.[110] Most of the major Italian fashion brands, such as Valentino, Versace, Prada, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, are currently headquartered in the city.

• Daverio, Philippe. Lombardy: 127 Destinations For Discovering Art, History, and Beauty (2016) guide book. excerpt
• Macadam, Alta, and Annabel Barber. Blue Guide Lombardy, Milan & the Italian Lakes (2020) excerpt
• Williams Jr., Egerton R. Lombard Towns in Italy; Or, The Cities of Ancient Lombardy (1914) online