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Milan. Pop. 1,300,000. Currency Euro. Language Italian. Time Zone GMT + 1 hour. Main airport – Milan Milano Malpensa Airport MXP. Best Time to go – springtime but early summer or autumn is also nice weather wise. Milan is the capital of the north western region of Lombardy. The city is renowned as a world centre for fashion and design capital, and is a major global influence in commerce, industry, music, sport, literature, art and media. The city is particularly famous for its fashion houses and shops (such as along Via Monte Napoleone) and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo (reckoned to be the world's oldest shopping mall). Milan also has a famous classical music tradition. The composer Giuseppe Verdi has a long association with the city and La Scalla (Teatro alla Scala) is arguably the most famous opera house in the world. The principal shopping area is the so-called Fashion Quadrangle (quadrilatero della moda) which consists of a number of streets featuring many of the most iconic fashion brands in the world. One street in particular, Montenapoleone St. includes shops such as Fedeli, Bulgari, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Valentino, Prada, Gucci, Etro Ferragamo, Cusi, Calderoni, Denti, Bucellati and Caffe Cova. The city is also well-known for containing several important museums, universities, academies, palaces, churches and libraries. For football fans the city has two famous clubs - A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano who both share the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, also known as the San Siro. TLD staff recall a visit to the San Siro for the Italy Scotland fixture 2005 for qualification for the 2006 World Cup 2005. Unfortunately, for Scotland, the Italians won 2 0. However, over 10,000 Scottish fans sampled the excellent hospitality and food that Milan had to offer including Italian beer, caffè espressos, cappuccinos, and of course pizza.