Ancient Mediolanum is believed to have been founded
by a Celtic people. Captured by the Romans in 222 BC,
it flourished under the Roman Empire and became the
residence of the emperors of the West in the 4th century
AD. The city was sacked by the Huns under Attila around
450 and was destroyed by the Goths in 539. By the end
of the 8th century the city had begun to prosper again.
During the Middle Ages, Milan was governed by a number
of archbishops, under whom the city had a certain degree
of independence. The archbishops, however, gradually
lost their temporal power to the lower feudal nobility,
who transformed Milan into a prosperous commune in the
11th century. In 1162 Milan was razed by troops under
Emperor Frederick I. The city recovered sufficiently
to help secure the victory (1176) of the Lombard League
over Frederick near Legnano. The victory heralded a
new period of prosperity. In 1277 a noble family, the
Visconti, succeeded in wresting control of the city
from the ruling Della Torre family; the Visconti ruled
until 1447. The reign of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, 1st
Duke of Milan (1351-1402), was a particularly prosperous
period and was regarded as a golden age.
In 1450 the Italian soldier Francesco Sforza seized
power and founded a line that remained firmly in control
of Milan until 1500, when the city was conquered by
France. The Sforzas continued to rule as puppets of
successive foreign invaders, including the French, the
Swiss, and the Austrians. The Sforza line died out in
1535, and soon afterwards Milan came under the rule
of Spain. Spain ruled until 1713, when the city was
ceded to Austria by the terms of the Peace of Utrecht.
Napoleon ousted the Austrians in 1796 and made Milan
the capital of the Cisalpine Republic.
Restored to Austria in 1815, Milan became a centre
of Italian patriotic resistance, and in 1848 it briefly
expelled the Austrians. In 1859, the Italians, aided
by the French, freed Milan from Austrian control. In
1861 Milan joined the kingdom of Italy and subsequently
prospered. During World War II it was heavily bombed.
In the post-war period Milan experienced great commercial
expansion and urban renewal.
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