Verdi was interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti. Mozart, in the 1770s, had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducal, and La Scala was to become the reference theatre of the world, with works by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi having premières here. Under Charlemagne, who took the title 'King of the Lombards,' Milan was firmly placed in the Holy Roman Empire.Įven as Napoleonic France and the Austrians fought over the city, Milan became a center of lyric opera. It became the capital of the Western Empire in 293 AD, before the Visigoths and then the Huns and Ostrogoths moved in. This ancient city, founded by a Celtic tribe in 400 BC, was conquered by Rome in the 2nd century BC. Milano, the Italian name, comes from the Latin Mediolanum. It’s home to both the world famous La Scala opera house and Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, at the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It’s also a bustling urban center, a center of modern industry, art, and fashion.
But it’s not enough to classify Milan as the country’s financial capital. What Frankfurt is to Germany, Milan is to Italy. Emergency measures in the wake of Covid-19:įor current Italian entry restrictions see the Travel Bans/Italy, Reopen-Europa/Italy, World Nomads/Italy, and Governo Italiano websites for updates in English.
