I.　　Get prepared with insider advice on hot spots and hargain buys in Italy's top fashion city. Learn where the must-see sights are and which restaurants are best. Practical gatefold maps in this text make this metropolis easy to navigate.

II.　　Don your designer sunglasses and step on to the catwalk that is Milan - Italy's capital of fashion, finance and football. With world-famous art and architecture vying for your attention with the dazzling shops, make sure you're carrying Best of Milan, the book that puts the whole city in your pocket.

　　1.RETAIL THERAPY - compete in MIlan's glamour stakes with our guide to the city's cutting-edge bourtiques and vintage-chic outlets

　　2.APERITIVO HOUR - our discerning reviews of the city's cocktail and canapé circuit will set you on course for a Milanese evening to remember

　　3.STAY IN STYLE - whether at a family-run pensione or rubbing shoulders with the fashion set at Milan's stylish design hontels

　　4.NAVIGATE with detailed walking tours and full-colour, grid-referenced maps, including the city's metro system

　　5.GO BEYOND the city limits with day trips to Bergamo, Cremonda, Pavia and Lago di Como

　　Milan

　　A city of northern Italy northeast of Genoa. Probably of Celtic origin, it was taken by the Romans in 222 B.C. and has been an important commercial, financial, cultural, and industrial center since medieval times because of its strategic location. Population: 1,270,000.　

　　Capital of the Lombardy region, northern Italy. The area was settled by the Gauls c. 600 BC. Known as Mediolanum, it was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC. Attacked in AD 452 by Attila and in 539 by the Goths, it fell to Charlemagne in 774. Milan's power grew in the 11th century, but it was destroyed by the Holy Roman Empire in 1162. Rebuilt as part of the Lombard League in 1167, Milan achieved independence in 1183. In 1450 Francesco Sforza founded a new dynasty there; after 1499 it was ruled alternately by the French and the Sforza family until 1535, when the Habsburgs obtained it. Napoleon took power in 1796, and in 1805 it became the capital of his kingdom of Italy. It was incorporated into unified Italy in 1860. Milan was heavily damaged during World War II but was rebuilt. It is Italy's most important economic centre, with industrial development and textile manufacturing. It is noted for its fashion industry and production of electronic goods and is also Italy's financial centre. Its historic sites include the medieval Duomo, Europe's third largest cathedral; the Palazzo di Brera (1651); the 15th-century monastery that houses Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper; and La Scala opera house.