Milan

a city of Italy. It is the second city of the kingdom, ranking next to Naples in size. It is situated on a branch of the Po, in the center of Lombardy, and is the commercial metropolis of that region. The city is surrounded by a wall seven miles in circumference. A fine drive follows the outside of the wall. The city within is a maze of narrow, crooked streets, relieved only by a few open squares. The chief building is Milan Cathedral. It stands in one of these open places. It is built of brick and is cased in white marble. It is an immense edifice of great beauty. It is noted for the vast number of spires. It was begun in 1387. It was finished by order of Napoleon in 1805. Among European cathedrals it is exceeded in size only by St. Peter's of Rome and the Cathedral of Seville. It is 477 feet in length and 183 feet in width. The main tower is 360 feet high. The general style is Gothic. The interior is particularly impressive. The vaulted roof is carried by fifty-two columns. The windows contain richly stained glass. There are over 2,000 statues. The city possesses also a beautiful gallery of high rank containing work by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and other famous artists.

Seen from the roof of the cathedral, the plains of Lombardy present an unending succession of cultivated fields laid off in squares by rows of Lombardy poplars or of mulberry trees. The region is one of the richest agricultural districts in the world. Water is brought from the Alps and the Pyrenees in irrigating ditches, enabling the peasants to raise a never-ending succession of crops. The meadows are cut or grazed four times a year. Rice, Indian corn, and wheat are the chief field crops. The district is noted also for cheese and milk.

Milan is the industrial capital of Italy. The principal industry of the city and immediate vicinity is the production and weaving of silk. It is the second city in the world in the manufacture of silks. It is pushing Lyons, France, hard for first place. Locomotives, electrical apparatus, carpets, and earthenware are manufactured. Milan is noted also for lace, jewelry, and millinery. In fact, the word millinery is said to be derived from Milan, a milliner or Milaner being one who sold feminine articles, ribbons, and the like, from Milan. Population, 500,000.