The Italian region of Lombardy is located between the Alps and the River Po. This is is the wealthiest, most industrially developed, and most densely populated region in Italy. All of this makes Lombardy one of least expected destinations of any tourist. However, only seemingly because this region has some of Italy's extraordinary cultural, artistic and natural heritage. The region's capital is Milan, economic and financial centre of Italy, as well as country's trendsetter in fashion and design. Lombardy is one of the most varied regions in Italy featuring landscape of snow covered mountains, many rivers and magnificent lakes.
The area of what is today known as Lombardy has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC, to which many archaeological findings of ceramics, arrows, axes and carved stones attest. Several Etruscan tribes inhabited the area in centuries to come. The Etruscans founded the city of Mantua and spread the use of writing, then, starting from the 5th century BC, the area was invaded by Celtic tribes. The Celts founded several cities, Milan being one of them. They also expanded their rule to the Adriatic Sea.
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| Milan |
The Romans extending their empire in the Po Valley from the 3rd century BC onwards stopped the Celtic development. Following many centuries of fights, the whole of Lombardy became a Roman province bearing the name of Gallia Cisalpina (literally - "Gaul on the nearer side of the Alps") in 194 BC. The Romans boosted Lombardy's development, and the area became one of the most developed and rich areas of Italy. The region's importance further grew when Mediolanum (Milan) temporary became the capital of the Western Empire. It was in this city that emperor Constantine issued the famous edict that gave freedom of confession to all religions within the Empire in 313 AD.
Lombardy was severely devastated by invading tribes during and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Lombards, or Longobardi, were the last tribe to wreak havoc in Lombardy. They came around 570s and their long-lasting reign gave the current name of Lombardy to the region. Following some initial struggles, the Lombard people and the Latin-speaking people settled their differences causing the Lombard language and culture assimilating with the Latin culture, the evidence of which there are now in many names, the legal code and laws. In 774, Frankish king Charlemagne conquered Pavia and annexed the Kingdom of Italy to his empire. This marked the end of Lombard rule.
During the 11th century the region's economy boomed under improved trading and agricultural conditions. The cities' wealth increased enabling them to defy the feudal power. In the 12th and 13th centuries different Lombard Leagues, led by Milan, defeated the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick I, at Legnano, and his grandson Frederick II, at Parma. However, other important Lombard centres, like Cremona (then a rival to Milan in wealth), supported the imperial power in exchange to some advantage. The area around the Po River expanded its industry and commerce and soon became the economic centre of the entire Europe.
Until the 15th century, the name "Lombardy" was being used to designate the whole of Northern Italy. Starting from the 14th century, internal and external struggles caused the creation of noble seignories, the most important being those of the Viscontis (later Sforzas) in Milan and of the Gonzagas in Mantua. The Duchy of Milan was one of major political, economical and military forces of Europe in the 15th century. This wealth was very attractive to forces like France and Austria, which battled over Lombardy in the late 15th and early 16th century. After the Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan came under Austrian rule, and passed on to the royal Austrian Hapsburgs of Spain. The new rulers imposed taxes in order to support their wars throughout Europe. The eastern part of the region was ruled by the Republic of Venice.
Pestilences and the declining of Italy's economy during the 17th and 18th centuries slowed down the further development of Lombardy. In 1706 the Austrians came to power and things began to look up. However, their rule ended in the late 18th century by the French armies, and Lombardy became one of the semi-independent province of Napoleonic France. The 1815 restoration of Austrian rule as the puppet state called Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, contended to the Napoleonic ideals. In the period leading to the unification of Italy, Lombardy was one of the intellectual centres. Lombardy was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy 1859 after the Second Italian Independence War.
From the late 19th century onwards, and especially after World War II, Lombardy was the most economically developed area of Italy. On January 1, 1927, Varese became independent by subtracting to Como some 40 towns up to the Lake Maggiore and to Milan the Busto Arsizio's and Gallarate's cities as instructed by a general setup of the Fascist regime. On March 6, 1992, two other provinces had been constituted, whereas, in 2004, the Monza and Brianza province were also constituted.
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| Lake Como (by: Martha Bakerjian) |
Lombardy borders Switzerland and the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, and Piedmont. There are three distinct natural zones in Lombardy: mountains, hills and plains, which are divided in Alta (high plains) and Bassa (low plains). The most important mountainous area in Lombardy is the Alpine zone with the Lepontine and Rhaetian Alps, the Bergamo Alps, the Ortles and Adamello massifs. The Alpine foothills zone Prealpi follows. The great Lombard lakes, Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, and Lake Garda, are located in this zone. South of the Alps lie the hills and a small plateaux. The plains of Lombardy are divided into the upper northern zone, theAlta, and the lower zone, the Bassa. Lombardy is crossed with a number of rivers, all direct or indirect tributaries of the Po. The Ticino, the outlet of Lake Maggiore, the Lambro, the Adda, outlet of Lake Como, the Mincio, outlet of Lake Garda, and the Oglio, the Lake Iseo outflow are the major rivers in the region.
The climate of the region of Lombardy is continental, but it varies depending on altitude or whether there are any inland waters or not. The climate is more accentuated on the plains, with variations in high annual temperature, and thick fog between October and February. The Prealpine zone has more frequent precipitations than the plains and Alpine zones.
The plains have been intensively cultivated for centuries, and because of that little of the original environment remains. Olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, and acacias acn be found in the area of the lakes. The mountainous area has more or less the same vegetation as the rest of the Italian Alps. At up to approximately 1,100 m, oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, beech trees grow at up to 2,000–2,200 m, whereas shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the zone beyond 2,200 m. Lombardy has a number of protected areas, including the Stelvio National Park, the largest Italian natural park, and the Ticino Valley Natural Park, protecting and conserving one of the last major examples of fluvial forest in Northern Italy.
The gross domestic product in Lombardia accounts for almost one quarter of the total gross domestic product of Italy, or €31,600 per inhabitant. Part of Lombardy's development can be found in the growth of the services sector since the 1980s. The industrial sector in Lombardy, however, is still strong, and Lombardy remains the main industrial area of the country. The region of Lombardy can be divided into three areas regarding to the productive activity. These areas are Milan, where the services sector makes up for 65.3% of the employment; the highly industrialised provinces of Varese, Como, Lecco, Bergamo and Brescia; and the provinces of Sondrio, Pavia, Cremona, Mantova and Lodi with a consistent agricultural activity, and an above average development of the services sector.
Lombardy has a semipresidential representative democracy, where the President of Regional Administration is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government, while egislative power is vested in the Regional Council. Lombardy is divided into 12 provinces: Province of Bergamo, Province of Brescia, Province of Como, Province of Cremona, Province of Lecco, Province of Lodi, Province of Mantova, Province of Milan, Province of Monza and Brianza, Province of Pavia, Province of Sondrio, and Province of Varese.
