DALLAS, Dec 24, 2003/ FW/ -- Milan (Milano) is Italy’s richest and second largest city. It is the center of Italy’s automobile industry and financial market. But it is better known as being “fashionable.”

Armani, Versace, Gucci, Prada – these are household words. Oh yes, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari are also household words, too, and well known as great cars.

But Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Miuccia Prada, and the soon-to-be former Gucci designer Tom Ford can hold the attention of the paparazzi better than the classic cars.

Milan is a natural stage for fashion’s glitz and glamour. With the city’s closely guarded reputation for flare, drama and creativity, the whole world looks on when Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Gianfranco Ferre unveil their new looks.

Four times a year, the press, retail buyers and fashion aficionados descend upon the city to witness the Milan Menswear and Womenswear shows.

Call it the “invasion of the fashionista.” The city welcomes them with open arms and show them the best fashion can offer.

But that was not the case for almost a thousand years, when the city had to ward of invaders constantly to keep its independence.

Located on the flat plains of the Po Valley, it is said that the city have been founded by Celtic tribes, who settled along the Po river in the 7th century BC.

In 222 BC, Roman legions marched into the territory, defeated the locals and occupied the town, which they called Mediolanum (middle of the plain). The city's key position on the trade routes linking Rome with northwestern Europe ensured its continued prosperity.

Firmly entrenched as part of the Roman Empire, the city endured centuries of chaos caused by waves of barbarian invasions. Milan had made an art of recovery, successively reinventing itself after every invader or conqueror had been vanquished.

The city came under Spanish rule in 1535 and was given to Austria in 1713 as part of the Treaty of Utrecht. Napoleon made Milan the capital of his Cisalpine Republic in 1797. Austria regained control of the city from 1814-1859. It will finally be reunited with Italy in 1860.

Milan’s economic success was founded at the end of the 19th century, when the metal factories and the rubber industries moved in, replacing agriculture and mercantile trading (primarily in silk) as the city’s main sources of income.

Today, Milan is a sprawling metropolis with a population of almost 2 million. The city’s layout is best understood as a historic nucleus around the Cathedral (duomo), from which a star-shaped axis of arteries spreads through modern suburbs to the ring road.

The so-called Quadrilateral (Quadrilatero della Moda) of fashion, formed by Via Montenapoleone, Via Sant’Andrea, Via Borgospesso and Via della Spiga north of the Cathedral, is home to Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Gucci, Missoni, Prada, Trussardi, Versace and Valentino boutiques where the latest fashion is shown and sold.

But if you want to see what is coming up next season, the Milan Menswear and Womenswear shows, which is organized by Italy’s Camera Moda, are the events to attend.

On January 11, 2004, Milan kicks off the Fall 2004 fashion season with the Milan Menswear show, with a week of the best of men’s fashion.