So you are planning to visit Lombardy, a region of northern Italy bordering on Switzerland, the Gulf of Taranto, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its regional capital and largest city is Milan, the center of Italian finance, fashion, and media. Lombardy is home to La Scala, the greatest opera house in Europe, or perhaps the whole world. And the Cathedral of Milan, ooh, la, la. There are museums galore and the massive, impressive Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a Nineteenth Century upscale shopping mall.
Small towns in Lombardy that are well worth visiting include Pavia which houses an important university, Cremona the historic center of violin making, and Mantua, where Romeo fled after killing Juliet's cousin. Its Palazzo Ducale contains 500 rooms one of which took a master seven years to paint. Save some time and money to visit the lakes. Lombardy borders no sea but it is home to Lake Maggiore, Lake Iseo, Lake Orta, Lake Como, and Lake Garda which spills over into the neighboring regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto. Each lake has its own special attractions, as do the lakeside towns such as Bellagio, which is considered one of the loveliest towns in Europe, and honored by a hotel of that name in Las Vegas.
Lombardy is home to three DOCG wines. Franciacorta is produced near Lake Iseo between Bergamo and Brescia. This is Italy's answer to Champagne and priced accordingly. The ros