Does anyone love Milan? No one has left their heart in it, thrown a coin into one of its fountains (there aren't any), longed to wake up there or seen it in the springtime.

A city named "in the middle" was never destined to inspire emotional extremes such as love. "Milan" derives from "Mediolanum," the Roman name for a camp where trade routes between Spain, the east, northern Europe and Rome crossed. Trade dominates Milan, though showrooms and studios have replaced the steel mills, rubber, automobile and locomotive factories that propelled Italy's industrial revolution. Milan has always been the nation's financial capital.