Today is a holiday in Milan, celebrating the city’s liberation from German occupation during World War II. 10 facts about Milan.
It is the second-most populous city in Italy after Rome. In 2025 its population was 1.36 million. It’s also the capital of the Lombardy region.
The city was founded around 600 BC by two Celtic tribes called the Bituriges and the Aedui. One used a boar as an emblem and the other a ram, so the symbol of the city became a boar with a woolly coat.
The Romans named the town Mediolanum, meaning “settlement in the middle of the plain”. Milan was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 AD to 402 AD.
The cathedral took almost 600 years to complete. Construction began in 1386 and the final details were added in 1965. It is the largest church in Italy, since St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City. It has over 3,400 statues, 135 spires, and countless gargoyles. The gargoyles are up for adoption. An “adopt a gargoyle” scheme was launched to fund renovations. 135 were adopted and it raised €100,000.
Milan is also home to Italy’s tallest building, the UniCredit Tower bank headquarters in the Porta Garibaldi area, which is 231 metres high. Also here is the largest stadium in Italy, the Stiadio Giuseppe Meazza or San Siro Stadium, which houses two famous local teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and can seat 80,018 people.
The city is famous for being the contemporary fashion capital of Italy. Luxury brands such as Prada, Versace, and Armani are based here, and it’s the venue for fashion events such as Milan Fashion Week. The Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Rectangle) is Milan’s premier fashion district.
Leonardo da Vinci fans will find plenty to see here. Not only is his famous painting, The Last Supper, housed in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, but he was responsible for designing the city’s canal system, the Navigli.
Milan is home to one of the world’s most famous opera houses, Teatro alla Scala. Opened in 1778, it has hosted the premieres of operas by Italian composers such as Verdi and Puccini.
It’s possible to spot a pink Flamingo in Milan. The real thing, not a garden ornament. Italian Cheese magnate Romeo Invernizzi brought some actual pink flamingoes from South Africa to his mansion, Villa Invernizzi, and they thrived there. While the mansion isn’t open to the public, it’s possible to see them through the railings of the gate.
In the Galleria of Vittorio Emanuele II there is a mosaic of a bull on the ground with a legend attached to it. It’s said that if you turn on your heel three times on the bull’s naughty bits it will bring you good luck.
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