Lombardy stretches from the Alps of northern Italy, with the magnificent Stelvio National Park, to the romantic, picturesque lake area (Lake Maggiore and Lake Como) and the Po Valley. Old palaces, splendid churches and great works of art are to be found in the Lombard cities of Mantua, Pavia and Cremona. Milan is the principal city of the region, commercial and financial centre of Italy and the undisputed capital of fashion. It is the centre of communication routes and also, thanks to La Scala Opera House and the important paintings in its art galleries, a city of art and culture of a European level.

If you are flying to Italy from another continent, chances are you'll be spending at least a couple of hours in Lombardy, for it is here you'll find Milan and Malpensa Airport. We have a few quick tips that will make it much easier for you to use Malpensa, by the way, so be sure to take a moment to print them out for your trip. We also tell you how to make mandatory reservations to see Leonardo's Last Supper. Other interesting activities in Milan are the spectacular cathedral (whose gargoyle-studded roof is one of Europe's most exciting), the fantastic designer shopping (perhaps second only to Paris), the historical castle, and the charming navigli, canals along whose flanks are some of Italy's trendiest restaurants.

Just half an hour from the metropolis, and easily reached by bus from the airport, is glorious Lake Como. If you spend a few days here, you can take leisurely boat trips to the many aristocratic villas and gardens, and to the charming villages of Bellagio, Varenna, and Tremezzo, always with the snow-capped Alps above, even when the shores are ablaze with tropical flowers. A bit farther east is another lake, Iseo, which is much smaller than Como but just as spectacular, with a darling village occupying its tiny island. This is the home of Franciacorta, some of Italy's most illustrious wines. We'll tell you about the country's Number One Chef, whose own estate is located right here.

In Bergamo, you'll find what many believe to be the most picturesque piazza in the whole country. Mantova's Ducal Palace has a cycle of frescoes by Mantegna that no art lover should miss. A few miles down the Mighty Po River is Cremona, home of the world's best violins. West of Milan, on the way to Piedmont, you'll drive through miles and miles of brilliant green rice fields (risotto alla milanese has to come from somewhere, right?). All of a sudden you will realize you are not in Cambodia, when you see the rococo façade of the Charterhouse of Pavia, a monastery whose wildly extravagant decorations are a national masterpiece.

Position and Frontier:
The region is extended between Po and the central Alps. The southern territory of the Region is the central part of Lowland Padana, limited to west from Lake Maggiore and from Ticino and to east from Garda Lake and from Mincio; to a band of hills that follows the mountainous zone, prealpina and alpine, which reaches always great altitudes proceeding toward the north, where we find the border with Switzerland. To east it borders with Trentino-tall Adige and Veneto, to south with Emilia Romagna and Piedmont and finally to west with Piedmont.

Rivers - Lakes:
The principal rivers of Lombardia, tributaries to the left of Po, are: Ticino, tributary and emissary of Lake Maggiore that passes for Pavia; Adda is born in Valtellina and flows to Colico in Lake of Como of drawers and goes out to Lecco bathing Praises; Brembo and Serio one that owes their name to the respective valleys, Val Brembana and Val Seriana meet their waters in the river Adda; Oglio crosses Val Camonica and enters and goes out in Lake of Iseo and it is thrown in Po and ends in Mincio that goes out of Garda Lake to Peschiera and bathes Mantua. The waters of the rivers feed a sharp net of artificial channels that regulate and distribute water in the most arid zones. The most important is the Great Naviglio, the Shipping in Pavia, the Shipping of Martesana and the Channel Villoresi. In the lakes zone we remember the oriental shore of Lake Maggiore, Lake of Lugano where the northern part belongs to Switzerland, Lake of Chest of drawers, Lake of Iseo and the western bank of Lake of Garda.

Climate:
In the lowland the winters are figid and the summers sultry . During autumn and winter there are dense and persistent fogs. In the hills the fogs are less frequent as well as the warm summers. In the mountain instead the climate is very rigid and more mild on the lakes od prealpi.

Population:
Lombardy is a region of high population density. The number of the inhabitants is almost double of the other more populated Italian regions. The populated zones are those of the tall lowland where the big commercial complexes rise and where Milan is found with around 1. 500. 000 inhabitants. The zones instead of the low lowlands are less populated even if they are the most fertile zones in Lombardy but, the motive that has pushed the farmers to abandon the country has been the little output of the earth. With the large number of jobs developed by the agricultural cars, the need for manpower is small, therefore a lot of people that look for employment prefer to work in the industrial and commercial firms.

Main cities

BERGAMO
BRESCIA
COMO
CREMONA
LECCO
LODI
MANTOVA
MILANO (MILAN)
PAVIA
SONDRIO
VARESE

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