the ancient Mediolanum, Italian Milano, and German Mailand), a city of Austrian Italy, and capital of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, is situated on the small river Olona, in N. Lat. 45° 27' 35", and E. Long. 9° 5' 45". It stands nearly in the centre of the extensive fertile plain of Northern Italy, at an almost equal distance from the lower range of the Alps and from the Po, and about midway between the rivers Ticino (Ticinus) and Adda (Addua), with the former of which it is connected by means of the canal called Naviglio Grande, and with the latter by the canal of the Martesana. (For an account of the foundation and early history of Milan, see Mediolanum.)

During the Gothic wars, Milan having espoused the Greek cause, was besieged and taken by the Goths under Uraia, a nephew of Vitiges, who, according to Procopius, put to the sword 300,000 of its male inhabitants, and reduced the women to slavery. From this great blow it did not recover for centuries. The metropolitan see was the only thing that it preserved of its former power and splendour. Under the Longobard kings it was the residence of one of the dukes appointed by Alboin, but it remained without any importance. Towards the end of the ninth century Archbishop Ansbertus partially repaired its ancient walls. As late, however, as the tenth century much of the space inclosed within them was occupied by cultivated fields; the squares were used as meadows; most of the houses were of thatched wood; and, according to the quaint expression of its old historian, Landulphus senior, there was no good form of government, ob nimiam hominum raritatem.

In the year 924, however, Pavia having been captured and plundered by the followers of King Berengarius, many of its inhabitants repaired to Milan, which from that time began again to rise rapidly to prosperity. In 945 a diet was held in the city for the first time, by which Lotharius was elected king of Italy; and in 961 the Emperor Otho the Great was crowned as king of Italy in its old church of Santo Ambrogio. At the beginning of the 11th century (1042) a feud between the lower classes and the nobles, with the archbishop at their head, ended in the expulsion of the latter from the town for two years. In 1066 the introduction of the celibacy of the clergy by Gregory VII. (Hildebrand) gave rise to great discords; yet Milan went on increasing in population and importance. It appointed Consoli for its government; and in the following century had so far asserted its independence, that the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa determined to reduce it to obedience. He descended into Italy in 1158, and soon obliged the Milanese to acknowledge his authority, on a stipulation from him that they should be allowed to elect their own consuls. Frederic, however, did not keep the terms which had been agreed to, but claimed by his agents the appointment of a Podestà, who should govern Milan in his name and under his authority. As those agents were driven out of the town, on the 16th April 1159, he passed a sentence by which the Milanese were condemned to slavery and their property to plunder. In 1161 he surrounded the town, and after a seven months' siege, compelled the inhabitants to surrender, and razed the city to the ground. Frederic was so proud of this achievement, that many of his diplomas were dated "Post destructionem Mediolani."

The fate of Milan awoke the sympathy and excited the indignation of the Lombard towns. Prompted by Pope Alexander III., who was at war with the Emperor, and aided by the agency of the friars, who were the unsuspected means of communication, they resolved to combine together for mutual protection. Deputies from the principal towns secretly assembled in the monastery of Pontida, near Bergamo, on the 7th of April 1167, and laid the foundation of a celebrated confederation known in the history of Italy as the Lega Lombarda. By the first article of the league they bound themselves to the restoration of Milan. Accordingly, whilst the Emperor was in the Romagna, the citizens of Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo, Mantua, and Verona marched towards Milan, and on the 27th April 1167, headed by a friar who carried the ensigns, escorted the Milanese home who had been dispersed among the neighbouring villages, and aided them in repairing the houses and raising the walls of their ruined town. On the first news of what had happened, the Emperor hastened back to Lombardy, but the allied forces were so numerous that he found himself obliged to retire to Germany through Savoy, the only road that remained open to him. At the instigation of the town of Pavia, the Count of Savoy and the Marquis of Monserrat, Frederic again descended into Italy with a large army in 1174; but after a fruitless siege of the new town of Alexandria, he was met by the army of the League near Legnano, and completely defeated on the 29th of May 1176. At length the peace of Constance, June 25, 1183, secured the liberties of the Lombard towns.

The internal constitution of Milan at this time was framed of elements so discordant, that they must soon have led to the gradual centralization of power in a single person. The nobles were divided into two classes: the upper class had a council of 300, called Credenza de' Consoli, for out of them the consuls were chosen; the lower had their own council of 100 members, called La Motta. The rest of the people in 1198 constituted themselves into a body, and appointed a council of 500, which was called Credenza di Santo Ambrogio. As the supreme power resided in the union of these three councils, and their proceedings were not directed by any settled rules, it was so difficult to carry on the machinery of government, that they had recourse at length to a Podesta, or dictator, generally a native of another town, whose office was annual, and who had full power over the life and property of all the inhabitants. The first dictator was appointed in 1186.

The Emperor Frederic II., following the steps of his grandfather Frederic I., tried to subdue Milan. In 1237 he defeated the Milanese near Cortenova; and again, in 1239, invaded their territory with a large army, which was completely routed. In 1245 he renewed his attacks, but was unsuccessful.

Milan might now have enjoyed freedom and prosperity, but the civil dissensions between the people and the aristocracy, which had been kept in check by fear of the common enemy, were soon renewed, and led eventually to the complete extinction of their liberties. Out of gratitude to Pagano della Torre, Lord of Valassina, who, after the defeat of Cortenova, had saved the remains of the army, the people chose him as Podesta, to protect them against the nobles; and at his death in 1241 they appointed in his place his nephew Martino della Torre, to whom they gave the title of Anziano (elder) della Credenza di Santo Ambrogio, with power to impose taxes. Martino formed a registry of all the lands and their owners; and in 1248 for the first time introduced the land-tax into the Milanese territory. Before his death he obtained a decree that his brother Philip should be named Podesta for life; but as Philip died after a short time, Napoleone, or Napo della Torre, a son of Pagano, was appointed Anziano for life. Under this humble name Napo was the despot of Milan; and in 1273 he obtained the dignity of Imperial Vicar from the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg, the founder of the House of Austria. Whilst in the full enjoyment of his power, many nobles whom he had persecuted and driven from Milan, led by an exile, Ottone Visconti, the Archbishop of Milan, surprised him, and made him prisoner at Desio on the 21st January 1277. Ottone was proclaimed lord of Milan, and with him originated the subsequent power of his house. Napo ended his days in an iron cage on the 16th August 1278.

With the exception of nine years, from 1302 to 1311, during which Mosca and Guido della Torre succeeded in restoring their family influence, the Viscontis, without having the name, were actually the sovereigns of Milan from 1277 to 1447, the year of the death of Filippo Maria, the last of that house. Their power was marked by tyranny and great cruelties. Azone and Giovanni were the only members of the house who showed any virtues. Many of them came to a violent end. Galeazzo I. died of an illness contracted whilst in prison; Stefano died of poison; Marco was thrown out of a window; Luchino was poisoned by his own wife; Matteo II. was murdered by his brothers; Barnabo died of poison whilst imprisoned at Trezzo; and Giovanni Maria was murdered at the age of twenty-four. Giovan Galeazzo, called Count of Virtù, from a fief in France which his wife Isabella brought as dower, having obtained in 1395 the creation of his estates into a dukedom by the Emperor Wenzel, was the first of the family who bore the title of duke. Filippo Maria having died without legitimate offspring, the Milanese tried to restore the republican form of government; but after three years they were compelled by famine to surrender to Francesco Sforza, who had married Bianca Maria, a natural daughter of Filippo. Sforza entered Milan on the 26th February 1450, and was proclaimed duke. He transmitted his power to his descendants, who held it till 1535, the year in which the last of them, Francesco II., died without issue. At the extinction of this line, Milan and its duchy were a subject of contention between King Francis I. and the Emperor Charles V. In 1455 the Emperor agreed to give his daughter Maria in marriage to the Duke of Orleans, second son of Francis, with the duchy of Milan as her dower; but the untimely death of this prince having left the succession again open, Charles V., on the 5th July 1546, gave the duchy to his son Philip, afterwards Philip II. of Spain.

The history of Milan and its duchy, after it became a Spanish province, has already been sketched in this work under ITALY, and more especially under LOMBARDO-VENETIAN KINGDOM. An account of the events of which Milan was the scene in 1847–50 will be given under the head SARDINIA.

Milan was desolated several times by the plague, but never so severely as in 1630, when it lost 140,000 of its inhabitants. A powerful and heart-rending description of that fearful visitation may be found in Manzoni's well-known novel, The Promessi Sposi.

The modern town is nearly of a circular figure; it is walled and protected by a citadel built by Francesco Sforza, enlarged by Philip II., and much strengthened by the Austrians since 1849. The whole compass of the wall is nearly 74 English miles; and just outside of it runs a road called Strada de' Circonvallazioni. The town has an area of 8,182,339 square metres, one-half of which is occupied by 5114 houses; one-fourth by 348 streets, lanes, &c., and 64 squares; and one-fourth by gardens. Its average height above the sea is 450 feet. The longest part, from the Porta Romana to the Porta Sempione, is about 3500 yards; and the broadest part, from the Porta Ticinese to the Porta Orientale, is 3200 yards. The wall is furnished with ten gates, some of which are the most striking objects of the city. The most remarkable of these is the Porta Ticinese, which resembles the entrance to a Roman temple. It is built of granite, and consists of colossal columns of the Ionic order, with an appropriate entablature; and in connection with it is the fine bridge over the Naviglio Grande. The Arco della Pace, begun by Eugene Beauharnais in 1807, from a design of the Marquis Cagnola, was called originally Arco del Sempione, and was intended to celebrate Napoleon's victories in Germany and Italy. At the fall of Napoleon in 1814 it had scarcely risen to the impost of the smaller arches. In 1816 the works were resumed by the Austrians, who gave it its present name to commemorate the return of the peace, and changed the destination of the sculptures that ornament it. It was finally completed and inaugurated in 1838, at the time of the coronation of the Emperor Ferdinand II. The columns, of 6 feet in circumference and 40 feet in height, formed out of a single block of marble, are its most distinguishing ornaments. The arch resting on them, of a breadth nearly equal to that of Constantine, is Milan.

ornamented with a car of bronze, to which six horses are harnessed, and in which the goddess of victory is seated. The whole building is of white marble, with the figures and bas-reliefs of bronze. The total cost was L142,840.

There are in Milan few piazzas or squares, and none either large, fine, or even regular. The Piazza del Duomo is long, but narrow and disfigured by the booth-like shops and buildings that surround it. The Piazza de' Mercanti, though small, is remarkable as containing some remains of ancient Milan, and has in its centre a portico where the traders assemble. The Piazza Fontana has a fine fountain, with two excellent figures in marble. The Piazza d'Armi, formerly the Foro Bonaparte, is the best promenade in Milan. It is planted with trees, and is about 600 yards long and 540 broad. The streets of Milan are generally narrow and crooked, and rather gloomy from the height of the buildings. The Corso, or High Street, is an exception. It runs through the whole city, is nearly 2½ miles in length, is of great breadth, and on both sides has magnificent and lofty houses. The streets are kept clean, and the pavement, which is composed of small pieces of marble or of granite, is far better than is usually seen in towns on the Continent.

Amongst the public buildings the Duomo or cathedral is the most remarkable. Next to St Peter's at Rome, it is the largest church in Italy. It is 486 feet in length, 288 feet in breadth between the transepts, and 252 in the body; the height of the crown of the vaulting of the nave is 153 feet, and of the highest pinnacle 355 feet. This vast edifice, dedicated to St Charles, was commenced so long ago as the year 1386. Under Napoleon large sums were drawn from the public revenue and applied to this structure; and since the restoration of the Austrian government 12,000 francs, or about L500, have been paid monthly till the completion of the edifice. It is now almost completed. The outside of the church, which is wholly of white marble, and which in several places had become black from the weather, has been well rubbed, and now appears quite as white as the newer parts. There is no place from which a good view of this cathedral can be obtained. On three sides it is shut in by narrow streets, and only the majestic front, with its five colossal entrances, can be seen from the Piazza del Duomo. The general style of the building is Gothic; but in many of its details it is mixed with incongruous ornaments that detract from its beauty. A vast collection of figures, from the hands of the most eminent statuaries, to the number of more than 5000, are placed upon the walls, Gothic turrets, and pinnacles. They are images of various saints, all as large as life. Richly-ornamented galleries, with finely-carved volutes and roses, extend from the one tower to the other. The roof, which is a remarkable work of art, is reached by a winding staircase of two hundred steps, from which the labyrinth of pillars surrounding the spectator has a most singular effect. In the centre of the roof rises the majestic dome, on which is placed a bronze statue of the Virgin Mary. The church has five entrances, leading to a like number of divisions, which are formed by fifty-two octagonal marble pillars 86 feet in height, and bound together at the top by Gothic arches. The altars are numerous and richly ornamented, and along the floor a meridian line was drawn in 1786. The floor is composed of pieces of marble of different colours formed into various ornamental figures. The entrance to this edifice is very imposing, and the panorama from the top is one of the finest in Italy.

The other ecclesiastical edifices are numerous, and most of them of great interest. The Basilica of St Ambrogio is the most ancient medieval structure in Milan. It was founded by St Ambrose in the year 387, and dedicated to SS. Gervasius and Protasius, and afterwards rebuilt; in its present form by Archbishop Ansperius in the ninth century. Though repaired in 1631, its original features were preserved unaltered. It is a kind of museum for the history of the arts; and the gold and silver facing of the high altar is one of the most remarkable monuments of goldsmith's art in the ninth century. The church of St Eustorgio, near the Porta Ticinese, rebuilt in the thirteenth century, is the most interesting repository of family monuments in Milan, though many of them were greatly defaced by the French at the end of the last century. St Lorenzo, rebuilt in the sixteenth century upon the plan of St Vitale at Ravenna, contains several fine pictures. Sta. Maria presso San Celso, or La Madonna, is a magnificent building, and one of the richest churches in Milan. St Fedele unites simplicity with great extent. St Carlo Borromeo was built in 1838 by contribution raised amongst the inhabitants after the first invasion of the cholera.

The celebrated fresco-painting of the "Last Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci, remains in what was formerly the refectory of the Dominican convent annexed to the church of Sta. Maria delle Grazie. It has been ruined by neglect and repainting; while the saline efflorescence which has extended itself over the wall on which it is painted has destroyed the glow of the colours, and in many places the paint has peeled off, whilst in others it is covered with mould.

Several of the civic buildings are deserving of notice. The royal palace, though the residence of the viceroy, has by no means an imposing exterior. It contains the magnificent throne apartment and the fresco-paintings of Appiani. The palace of the archbishop is a fine piece of architecture, with an admirable collection of paintings. The Broletto, or town-hall, is an extensive building with two courts and colonnades, erected by Filippo Maria Visconti for the Count of Caramagnola. Besides these edifices, the palaces of the families Litta, Melzi, Borromeo, Trivulzi, Vismara, Pozzi, and numerous others, are of great extent as well as of various kinds of architecture, and contain many valuable paintings.

The institutions devoted to science, literature, and the fine arts are the most distinguishing objects on which the Milanese can pride themselves. The Ambrosian Library, founded by Cardinal Borromeo, contains about 100,000 printed books, great part of which are arranged in a lofty hall, and about 18,000 MSS. bound into 5500 vols. Many of the MSS. were brought from the suppressed monastery of Bobbio, and are celebrated for the palimpsests discovered among them by Angelo Mai. In connection with the library are apartments containing collections of pictures and of statuary, both of great merit. The Brera, formerly the college of the Jesuits, and, still earlier, of a brotherhood called Umiliati, is devoted to science, and is connected with the university of Pavia. The interior square of the building is surrounded with colonnades—on the ground floor composed of Doric, and on the upper floor with Ionic pillars, forming open halls. The tower of this edifice is employed as an astronomical observatory, and the garden is made use of for the purposes of botany. The ground floor is adapted for lecture-rooms, and the upper floor contains a library of more than 125,000 volumes and numerous valuable manuscripts. Adjoining it is the picture gallery, containing many excellent productions, especially some most valuable fresco-paintings, which have been preserved and removed from the churches and monasteries in and around the city. On the upper storey are apartments containing numerous casts of ancient and modern sculpture in plaster of Paris, and also a collection of coins and medals. Besides these public institutions, there are many collections of old and valuable works in the libraries Pagnani, Melzi, Reina, Litta, Archinto, Trivulzi, &c.

In this large city, where the destitute, the aged, and the infirm are very numerous, the institutions for their relief are upon a commensurate scale, and possess property to the amount of nearly L7,000,000. The Ospedale Maggiore, begun by Francesco Sforza in 1456, is a prodigious range of building, with a beautiful front of 450 feet in length, entered by magnificent portals. The usual number of patients contained in it is about 1600, but it can contain as many as 2000. The annual average number of patients admitted is 20,000; of deaths, 2700. With this is connected the Foundling Hospital, in which nearly 1000 children are maintained within the walls, and about 2000 are sent to board in the villages around the city. There is also a large lying-in hospital; a lunatic asylum, in which are kept generally 420 insane persons; the lazaretto, containing many small houses without the gates, as a precaution against the plague; the Trivulzi, which contains 600 poor of both sexes, above seventy years of age, who are maintained by property bequeathed to it by the noble family of that name; an orphan-house, which supports 350 young persons; and several smaller institutions. Besides these, the monks and the nuns of the order of mercy have each their benevolent establishments.

The places of amusement are both numerous and extensive. The opera-house, La Scala, built in 1776 on the site of an ancient church of that name, is, next to St Carlo at Naples, the largest theatre in Europe. It contains 240 boxes in six tiers, one above the other, and has seats for 800 persons in the pit, besides standing room in the centre and both sides of it, so that it is calculated to contain nearly 5000 spectators. There is also the imperial theatre of the Canobbiana, which can hold 2500 spectators; and three or four small private theatres.

The city, including the suburbs, contained in 1854 168,596 inhabitants (exclusive of the Austrian garrison), of whom 84,039 were men and 84,557 were women. They formed 37,300 families, and were classified as follows:

| Married | Unmarried | Divorced | Widowers | Celibacy by vow | Total | |---------|-----------|----------|----------|-----------------|-------| | 58,161 | 60,504 | 32,158 | 16,112 | 1661 | 168,596 |

There were among them 16,640, or 1 in 10, proprietors; 6934 employés, in actual service or pensioned off; 59,392 tradesmen, merchants, and artists; 4078 who followed liberal professions; and 10,560, or 1 in 15, were supported in the charitable institutions. 31,674 inhabitants above seven years of age, and 2893 under seven, frequented public, private, or charitable schools; giving 1 student for 5 inhabitants. The average mortality was 1 in 35. One-third of the population died under 19; one-fifth from 19 to 25; one-fifth from 26 to 40; one-eighth from 40 to 60; one-tenth from 61 to 89; only 5 died above 90 years of age.

Milan has often been called the Paris of the south. It has an appearance of wealth and industry not generally met with in Italian towns. Its chief wholesale trade consists in silk, either raw or spun, and in cheese; for the particulars of which see Lombardy. As Milan is a kind of metropolis to the north of Italy, and resorted to in the winter by the rich, the tradesmen are at that time of the year in full occupation; but at other seasons they find little employment, except what arises from the foreign visitors. A railway connects Milan and Venice, with the exception of a temporary break of some 15 miles between Treviglio and Bergamo; while the Turin railroad extends as far as Novara, 27 miles west of Milan.