Editing Milan (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
{{Main|Lordship of Milan}}
[[File:5903 - Milano - Camillo Boito, Porta Ticinese (1865) -Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 27-Feb-2007.jpg|thumb|The [[Porta Ticinese (Medieval Gate of Milan)|Medieval Porta Ticinese]] (12th century) is one of the three medieval gates of the city that still exist in the modern Milan.]]
[[File:Piazza mercanti Milano.JPG|thumb|right|[[Piazza Mercanti]] used to be the heart of the city in the Middle Ages.]]
After the siege of the city by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence moved to Ravenna. Attila, King of the [[Huns]], [[Siege of Milan|sacked and devastated the city]] in 452&nbsp;AD. In 539 the [[Ostrogoths]] conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]]. In the summer of 569 the Lombards (from whom the name of the Italian region [[Lombardy]] derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small [[Byzantine army|Byzantine garrison]] left for its defence. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule.<ref>See the ''[[Laudes Mediolanensis civitatis]]''.</ref> Milan surrendered to [[Charlemagne]] and the [[Franks]] in 774.

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s. City-states emerged in northern Italy, an expression of the new political power of the cities and their will to fight against all feudal powers. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the Italian city-states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.turismo.milano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/storia|title=Milan: a history of greatness, from its origins to the twentieth century|website=Portale per il Turismo del Comune di Milano|language=en|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=29 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429093826/http://www.turismo.milano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/storia|url-status=live}}</ref> The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked [[Frederick I Barbarossa]] for help. In a sally they captured [[Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy|Empress Beatrice]] and forced her to [[Parading on donkey|ride a donkey]] backward through the city until getting out. Frederick I Barbarossa brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Walford |first1=Edward |author-link1=Edward Walford |first2=John Charles |author-link2=John Charles Cox |last2=Cox |first3=George Latimer |last3=Apperson |year=1885 |title=Digit folklore, part II |journal=The Antiquary |volume=XI |pages=119–123 |url=https://archive.org/stream/antiquary11slsniala#page/118/mode/2up }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Novobatzky |first1=Peter |first2=Ammon |last2=Shea |year=2001 |title=Depraved and Insulting English |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780156011495 |url-access=registration |location=Orlando |publisher=Harcourt |isbn=9780156011495 }}</ref>

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its geographical position. During this time, the city was considered one of the largest European cities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Tom|title=The City-State in Europe, 1000–1600: Hinterland, Territory, Region|year=2012|publisher=OUP Oxford|pages=17|isbn=978-0199274604}}</ref> As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the [[Peace of Constance]] in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Lecco |first1=Alberto |last2=Foot |first2=John |title=Milan Italy |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy/Landscape |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. |accessdate=4 February 2020 |date=2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Italy |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2693&HistoryID=ac52&gtrack=pthc |website=HistoryWorld |accessdate=4 February 2020 |page=2}}</ref>

In 1395, [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]] became the first [[List of rulers of Milan|Duke of Milan]] upon receiving the title from [[Wenceslaus, King of the Romans]]. In 1447 [[Filippo Maria Visconti]], Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the [[Golden Ambrosian Republic|Ambrosian Republic]] was established; it took its name from St. Ambrose, the popular patron saint of the city.<ref name="lucas:268">Henry S. Lucas, ''The Renaissance and the Reformation'' p. 268.</ref> Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by [[Francesco I Sforza|Francesco I]] of the [[House of Sforza]], which made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian [[Renaissance]].<ref name="lucas:268"/><ref name="InternationalStudent">{{cite web|url=http://internationalrelations.unicatt.it/it/international_student/the_history_of_milan |title=The History of Milan – Relazioni Internazionali – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore |publisher=internationalrelations.unicatt.it |access-date=14 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108120442/http://internationalrelations.unicatt.it/it/international_student/the_history_of_milan |archive-date= 8 November 2009 }}</ref> Under the House of Sforza, Milan experienced a period of great prosperity, which in particular saw the development of mulberry cultivation and silk processing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Milan – History|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy|access-date=17 December 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

Following this economic growth, works such as the [[Sforza Castle]] (already existing in the Visconti era under the name of Porta Giovia Castle, but re-adapted, enlarged and completed by the Sforza family) and the [[Policlinico of Milan|Ospedale Maggiore]] were completed. The Sforzas also managed to attract to Milan personalities such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], who redesigned and improved the function of the [[navigli]] and painted ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'', and [[Bramante]], who worked on the [[Santa Maria presso San Satiro|church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro]], on the [[basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]] and to the [[Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan|church of Santa Maria delle Grazie]], influencing the development of the [[Renaissance in Lombardy|Lombard Renaissance]].