Lombardy summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Lombardy.

Lombardy , Region (pop., 2003 est.: 9,108,645), northern Italy. Bounded on the north by Switzerland, it contains many Alpine peaks as well as the fertile valley of the Po River. Its capital is Milan. Inhabited by Celtic peoples from the 5th century bc, it was conquered by Rome after the Second Punic War and became part of Cisalpine Gaul. In ad 568–774 it was the centre of the kingdom of the Lombards. During the Middle Ages several of its towns became self-governing municipalities; they formed the Lombard League in the 12th century and won autonomy by defeating Frederick I Barbarossa in 1176. The area was later ruled by Spain (1535–1713), Austria (1713–96), and France (1796–1814). In 1859 Lombardy joined the newly unified Italy. Italy’s most populous region, it is a thriving commercial area centred on Milan.

Congress of Vienna Summary

Congress of Vienna, assembly in 1814–15 that reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. It began in September 1814, five months after Napoleon I’s first abdication and completed its “Final Act” in June 1815, shortly before the Waterloo campaign and the final defeat of Napoleon. The settlement

Alps Summary

Alps, a small segment of a discontinuous mountain chain that stretches from the Atlas Mountains of North Africa across southern Europe and Asia to beyond the Himalayas. The Alps extend north from the subtropical Mediterranean coast near Nice, France, to Lake Geneva before trending east-northeast to

Milan Summary

Milan, city, capital of Milano province (provincia) and of the region (regione) of Lombardy (Lombardia), northern Italy. It is the leading financial centre and the most prosperous manufacturing and commercial city of Italy. The destiny of Milan, like that of many of the world’s great cities,

Italy Summary

Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy comprises some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth and is often described as a country shaped like a boot. At its broad top stand the Alps, which are among the world’s most