Lombardy

Lombardia

The region of Lombardy is located in the North of Italy along the border with Switzerland, with very high mountains such as Mount Bernina (4050m) and Adamello (3554m) .The region is crossed by the Po river, the largest in Italy and by many of its most important tributaries, the Ticino, Adda, Oglio, Mincio, that all form a number of lakes: Lago Maggiore, Lago di Varese, Lago di Lugano, Lago di Como, Lago d'Idro and Lago di Garda. The South is flat and dominated by the rich and wide Pianura Padana; where the harvesting of wheat, rice, maize, barley, makes the region the number one in Italy for farming, with a considerable production of meat, milk and dairy products also. It is also the region where industry and finance are most developed - Milano is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (Piazza Affari).

Tourism is popular in the mountain resorts, the lake region and in the cities of Bergamo, Mantua, Como and Milan, the capital of the region and the heart of the Italian fashion industry.

The Lombard kitchen is one of fat and butter (like almost everywhere above the Appennino boarder), in which prevails the art of long cooking, boiling and stewing. Stews, risottos, cheeses, fish and polenta are all popular within the gastronomy of La Lombardia.