Previously a Roman city by the name of Mediolanum, Milan became a hub of the Christian religion through
the 6th century. Despite a period of decline following the invasion of the Lombards in 568, the city once again thrived under Charlemagne in the eighth century and the supremacy of the Ambrosian rite returned the city to the center of religious activities of the Catholic Church. There followed the period of city-states, which came to an end with the Visconti family in power.
The period 1277 to 1447 saw the construction both of the Duomo and of the city walls, which were built on the present day Canal ring. Fourteenth century Milan saw the construction of a canal system (the Navigli) as a means to defend the city and for commercial use, and this became a determining factor in the economic importance of the city. In the fifteenth century power passed from the Visconti family to the Sforzas when Francesco Sforza became Duke of Milan. The city lived its greatest splendor during the Renaissance (Rinascimento) when both Leonardo and Bramante worked in Milan, witnessed by the Santa Maria delle Grazie church where Da Vinci painted the Last Supper, and the Maggiore Hospital (now the site of the State University).
The most splendid architectural monument in this period of the city's history is the Castello Sforzesco, nowadays both monument and the repository of a number of art collections. The most important architectural work in the seventeenth century was the circular Spanish City Walls, which today delimits the historical city center. Hapsburg domination followed Spanish rule at the beginning of the eighteenth century and Maria Theresa saw development in all sectors, from the economy to culture and from the government to the arts. It was to this period that we owe the founding of the Brera Academy and the construction of the Scala Opera House, the Villa Reale and the Royal Palace. With Napoleon Bonaparte, Milan fell under French rule and became the capital of the Cisalpine Republic at the end of the eighteenth century. Austrian domination returned in the nineteenth century but then in 1848 there was a popular rebellion - the Five Days of Milan -, which failed to succeed at the time although liberation from Austrian rule came a few years later with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy (1861). At the beginning of the twentieth century, Milan - like the rest of Italy - was under fascist dictatorship. Significant architectural works were built in this period, such as Central Station and the Arengario as well as innovative buildings like the Triennale. At the end of the Second World War, Milan led the way for the reconstruction of the rest of Italy. Today, Milan is recognized as being a major center in Italy and Europe for finance, commerce, industry, the tertiary sector, fashion, design and - more recently - communications and new technology.
