Milan (Italian: Milano Italian pronunciation: [miˈla(ː)no], is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million. The Milan metropolitan area, by far the largest in Italy, is estimated by OECD to have a population of 7.4 million.

Milan is renowned as one of the world capitals of design and fashion. The English word millinery, referring to women’s hats, 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).

Milan is regarded as the true fashion capital of the world, according to the 2009 Global Language Monitor, and annually competes with other major international centres, such as New York, Paris, Rome and London. Some of the finest Italian fashion houses, such as Gucci, Prada, Versace, Missoni, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Valentino, Trussardi, Luxottica and Moschino, to name a few, are headquartered in the city. The city also contains boutiques and important offices of other major labels, such as Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Ferragamo, Fendi and Hermès.

An international and cosmopolitan city, 13.9% of Milan’s population is from abroad. Milan’s global importance and influence in fashion, opera, finance, business, culture, literature, commerce, industry and media make it one of GaWC’s major Alpha world cities, ranking amongst the top 18 global cities, along with Madrid, Seoul, Moscow, Toronto, Brussels, Mumbai, Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur.

Milan is one of the EU and the world’s most important centres for business and finance, with its economy (see economy of Milan) being the world’s 26th richest by purchasing power, with a GDP of $115 billion, and the Milan metropolitan area has Europe’s 4th highest GDP, that of € 241.2 billion (US$ 312.3 billion) in 2004, which means that were Milan a country, it would be the world’s 28th richest, near in size to that of the economy of Austria. Milan, also, has one of Italy’s highest GDP (per capita), about €35,137 (US$ 52,263), which is 161.6% of the EU average GDP per capita. The city is also the world’s 11th most expensive city for expatriate employees.

The city hosted the World Exposition in 1906 and will host the Universal Expo in 2015, and currently the FieraMilano fair is considered the largest in Europe. Milan is a city rich in art, history and culture. La Scala, built in 1778, is considered one of the most prestigious and important opera houses in the world, and the city hosts a fine collection of museums, art galleries, churches, libraries, universities and academies. The Brera Academy, founded by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria is a very important European art gallery.

Also, the Milan Cathedral took five centuries to complete, is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and is regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The Bocconi University in the city, ranks among the top 20 best business schools in the world by The Wall Street Journal and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is the biggest Catholic university in the world.