Lombardy is the heart of Italian commerce and industry. Eurostat figures show that Lombardy in 2003 had the highest GDP for a region in the whole of the EU. Milan, the regional capital and the country’s second largest city is home to the Italian stock exchange.

Italian finance, banking and the services sector are in great part based in the Milan and its province. The flourishing fashion and design industry also puts Milan “on the map” as does the “Fiera Milano”, Europe’s largest trade fair.