Identity: Municipi, language, Saint Ambrose
The municipality is divided into nine Municipi, from the centre (Municipio 1) to eight radial wedges, and is the capital of the Metropolitan City. Italian is spoken; Milanese is the traditional dialect. Patron saint Ambrose, city holiday on 7 December with the Oh bej! Oh bej! fair and the opening night at La Scala.
Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays
Administrative structure
The Comune di Milano is organised into nine Municipi, each with a council and president elected together with the mayor: Municipio 1 coincides with the historic centre inside the Cerchia dei Bastioni, the other eight are wedges running from the centre to the suburbs clockwise (2 Stazione Centrale–Gorla–Crescenzago, 3 Città Studi–Lambrate–Porta Venezia, 4 Porta Vittoria–Forlanini, 5 Vigentino–Chiaravalle–Gratosoglio, 6 Barona–Lorenteggio, 7 Baggio–De Angeli–San Siro, 8 Fiera–Gallaratese–Quarto Oggiaro, 9 Porta Garibaldi–Niguarda). The Municipi run neighbourhood services and are the reference for local registry offices, parks and district culture.
Milan is the capital of Lombardy (regional seat at Palazzo Lombardia) and of the Città metropolitana di Milano, which replaced the Province in 2015.
Language and identity
The language is Italian, with the largest presence of English in work and services among Italian cities. Milanese, a variety of Western Lombard, survives in sayings, dish names and popular song, but is little spoken. Almost one resident in five holds foreign citizenship: the largest communities are Egyptian, Filipino, Chinese (historic around Paolo Sarpi), Peruvian, Sri Lankan and Romanian, and the city was the gateway of internal migration from Veneto and the South in the twentieth century.
The patron saint is Ambrose, bishop of the city in the fourth century: 7 December is a holiday in the municipality, with the Oh bej! Oh bej! fair around the Castello Sforzesco and the opening of the Teatro alla Scala season. The Ambrosian rite, with its own liturgical calendar (carnival ends on the Saturday after Shrove Tuesday), is still used in the churches of the diocese.
- Institutions: Palazzo Marino (city hall, Piazza della Scala), Palazzo Lombardia (Region), Borsa Italiana at Palazzo Mezzanotte (Piazza Affari), Teatro alla Scala, Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, Triennale, Fiera Milano.
- Symbols: the Duomo and the Madonnina, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Castello Sforzesco, the Navigli canals, the Visconti serpent in the coat of arms and in the logos of Milanese companies.
- Two football clubs (Inter and Milan, both at San Siro), Olimpia in basketball, the Monza racetrack half an hour away.
- Publishing and media capital: Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore, Mondadori, Feltrinelli, Mediaset, the Rai centre on Corso Sempione.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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