Lombardy

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Regione Lombardia

Flag of Lombardy
Geography of Italy>Zone	Northwest Italy/-->
Capital	Milan
President	Roberto Formigoni (House of Freedoms)
Provinces of Italy>Provinces	Bergamo Brescia Como Cremona Lecco Lodi Mantua Milano Monza e Brianza (effective in 2009) Pavia Sondrio Varese
Municipalities
Area	km²
Ranked	(7.9 %)
Population (2003 est.)  - Total  - Ranked  - Density	9,108,645 1st (15.8 %) 382/km²
Map highlighting the location of Lombardia in Italy

Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia; Lombard: Lumbardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po river valley. It borders the Italian regions of Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Trentino-South Tyrol, as well as Switzerland.

One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy. Its capital is Milan, the largest city in Northern Italy. The current president of Lombardy is Roberto Formigoni. Pirelli Tower, the highest skyscraper in Italy (127 m), is the seat of Lombardy's regional government.

Lombardy is one of the engines of the global economy with a GDP calculated by ISTAT at €400 billion. The region is one of the three richest regions in Europe, with a per capita gross domestic product that is 30 percent higher than the rest of Italy. In fact the latest Eurostat figures shows that Lombardy in 2003 had the highest GDP for a region in the whole of the EU. Many foreign and national companies have their headquarters in Milan, and Lombardy is home to many top-rated clubs in football, rugby, ice hockey and basketball.

History

The region is named for the Lombards, or Longobardi, who came after the fall of the (western) Roman Empire around 570s. The Lombards spoke a Germanic language akin to Anglo-Saxon, which may or may not have been its own language at all. There was a close relationship between the Frankish, Bavarian and Lombard nobility for many centuries. The name "Lombardy" applied to the whole of Northern Italy until the 15th century.

Provinces

The region is divided into the following provinces, all named after their capital cities:

• Bergamo
• Brescia (weapon, iron& mechanic industries )
• Como (silk industries - Lake Como)
• Cremona
• Lecco
• Lodi
• Mantova
• Milano
• Monza e Brianza (effective in 2009) (furniture industries)
• Pavia (one of the most ancient universities)
• Sondrio (Valtellina)
• Varese (shoes industries)

Its twelve provinces are subdivided into a total of 1,562 communes, ranging in population from Milan (1,256,211) to Morterone, near Lake Como, with only 33 inhabitants (2001 census).

Main cities

• Milan 1,256,211

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