Lombardy Main | Description | Hotels | Map WHY LOMBARDY? Visit the lakes and see some of the most spectacular scenery in Italy Shop in Milan, the design and fashion capital of Italy See Leonardo da Vincis painting of the Last Supper in Milan Attend an opera at La Scala in Milan Take in a car race at the famous track in Monza Buy silk in Como, the silk capital of Italy Peruse the shops in the picturesque town of Bellagio (pictured right: Sondrio) Lombardy, Land of the Lakes, is Italy’s richest and most developed region. During the Renaissance, it was a cluster of city states ruled by patrician families who patronized artists, writers, sculptors and architects, and as a result some of Italy’s most magnificent 15th and 16th century buildings and art works are found here. As a border region, Lombardy profited from being a commercial crossroads, and this, along with its extensive industrial base, makes it the economic capital of Italy. Milan, home to the country’s stock market and the majority of its corporations, is the business, financial and cultural capital of Italy, as well as the banking center for southern Europe. Each year its International Trade Fair draws thousands of people from throughout the world. Synonymous with style, Milan is the world’s acknowledged design center as well as one of the world’s top fashion cities. It is also the seat of Italian publishing and furniture design and home of the world famous La Scala opera house. The heart of Milan is the Duomo, the largest and most elaborate Gothic cathedral in Italy. Flanking the cathedral’s square is the entrance to the 19th century Galleria, a glass domed arcade lined with fashionable shops, restaurants and cafes. The nearby streets of Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and Via Sant’Andrea showcase the elegant shops and boutiques of Italy’s leading fashion designers. Art is one of Milan’s principal attractions, including Leonardo da Vinci’s world-famous painting of the Last Supper. Lombardy extends from the Alps to the Po River, and within its borders lie towering mountain ranges, a vast agricultural plain, deep glacial lakes and quiet hill country. The Lombardy lakes stretch from the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore to Lake Garda, and include some of the most beautiful scenery in the world: dolomite cliffs frame mountain villages that hug the sapphire blue water, with lemon and olive groves and vineyards terraced into the steep rock. Leonardo chose the scenery of the lakes for the background of the Mona Lisa, and Hemingway made them a setting in A Farewell to Arms. Lake Como is the most breathtaking of the lakes, with sheer cliffs and the snow covered Alps as a backdrop. A peninsula on Italy’s largest lake, Garda, contains the medieval walled town of Sirmione and the remains of an ancient Roman villa. Stunning Lake Maggiore contains the three picturesque islands of the Borromees, while the topography of Lake Iseo is more rugged, with steep slopes dropping into deep blue water, giving it a fiord like appearance. Rice competes with pasta for first place on the table and often wins: risotto is cooked with tender spring asparagus or sweet water shrimp, tinted gold by saffron, perfumed by rosemary or sage. Lombardy relies on butter rather than olive oil, and cream is frequently used in rich, sumptuous sauces. There are tortelli di zucca, squash-filled tortelli, and Brescia’s casonsei, ravioli filled with sausages, potatoes, Swiss chard and herbs. A pasta called pizzoccheri, made of buckwheat flour, is layered with cabbage, potatoes and cheese. Vitello tonnato is a cold dish of poached veal in a delicately flavorful sauce of tuna, mayonnaise and capers. Try costolette alla milanese, breaded and fried veal chops, or bollito misto, various cuts of beef, pork and veal boiled together in a rich broth. Polenta is made not only of cornmeal but of buckwheat flour, as in polenta taragna, streaked with melting bits of cheese. Desserts include torta sbrisolona, a crunchy cake made of cornmeal, flour, wine and almonds, and Amaretti di Saronno, addictive almond macaroons. Among wines not to be missed are Barbacarlo, Bonarda, Buttafuoco, Pinot and Cortese and the sparkling wines of Franciacorta and Oltrepo Pavese.