At the iconic Duomo di Milano, in the city of Milan, capital of Lombardy in Northern Italy

 Milan is Italy's city of the future, a fast-paced metropolis where money talks, creativity is big business, and looking good is an art form.

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(in the capital of Lombardy in Northern Italy) A breathtaking stalwart of the Milan skyline, the history of the city's Duomo (depicted here) spans more than six centuries of worship. The cathedral’s construction began back in 1386 at the peak of Gothic design but was not truly completed until the mid-20th century. Over the decades, a succession of Italy's greatest architects, engineers, and artists worked on the magnificent structure. (Even Leonardo Da Vinci sketched some designs for a proposed domed tower, though they never made it off his drawing board.)

+ Milan sits right at the heart of Italy's fashion, design, and architecture scene -- so much so, in fact, that creatives from all over the world come here every year for events like Salone del Mobile (the Milan Furniture Fair) and Milan Fashion Week. (And the scenery and sights truly live up to the hype.)

+ The iconic Duomo di Milano is the world's largest Gothic Cathedral. The amazing mosaics and glass vaults of the Scala Opera House and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (not to mention museums and galleries like Pinacoteca di Brera), are also popular attractions. As an added bonus, Milan's food scene has really grown over the last decade. Now, you can not only find regional classics, but you can also explore a variety of solid international flavors, including Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Ethiopian fare. (Milan is also the birthplace of the negroni sbagliato -- so don't skip a chance to get one straight from the source.)

+ In addition to clothing design, Milan is a world center of design in general. Several small, high-quality businesses specialize in furniture design, graphic design, and other design areas. The design industry remains central to the Besana in the Brianza area north of the city. Another noteworthy part of the city’s services sector is communications. Milan is home to Mondadori, Italy’s large publishing group, as well as the newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport and the newsmagazine L’Espresso. In addition, Milan is the capital of private television in Italy, dominated by the media empire of Silvio Berlusconi, an entrepreneur who has served as Italy’s prime minister several times. His media group, with its headquarters in Milan, has spawned a series of specialized industries linked to private television, such as advertising, dubbing, photography, and filmmaking. Milan’s position as the electronic media center of Italy has been augmented by the rapid growth of high-technology industries, including telecommunications, data processing, software production, and Internet design.

+ Indeed, Milan remains the base for some of the world’s most prolific designers, world-famous artworks, and breathtaking monuments. (Milan is also a great vantage point to Northern Italy’s most impressive scenery.)