The Italian city of commerce used to be just that. As recently as five years ago, Milan was dismissed by many as the “ugly city,” where lawyers and bankers labored inside gray office complexes and workers toiled away in drab factories.
The city lacked the history of Florence, the beauty of Rome, the views of Amalfi, and the food of Parma. Add to all this the weather element—situated in what is basically a swamp in northwestern Italy, the often cloudy Milan plays host to sweltering summers and frigid, humid winters that seep deep inside your bones—and you have an altogether unwelcoming place.
