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There are 20 regions in Italy and Lombardy is one of the 20 whose capital is Milan.
The touristic destinations in Lombardy are the Lakes Garda, Como, Iseo and Maggiore, and the important cities apart from the capital is Mantua and Bergamo.
Lombardy was settled since the 2nd millennium BC. It was first inhabited by the Etruscan tribes. They founded Mantua city. After the 5th century BC, the Celtic tribes invaded the area. Milan was founded by the Celts. However they were stopped by the Roman expansion in the Padan Plain during the 3rd century BC and after. In 194 BC Lombardy became a Roman province with the name of Gallia Cisalpina which means Gaul on the nearer side of the Alps. With the help of the Roman culture Lombardy became one of the most developed areas of Italy. They constructed roads and developed agriculture and trade. Milan became the capital and in 313 AD, emperor Constantine gave freedom of confession to all religions within the Empire.
After the fall of the Western Empire, Lombardy suffered from barbaric invasions. The most effective was of the Lombards, or Longobardi in 570s. They gave the name Lombardy to the region and Pavia became the capital.
Lombard rule ended in 774 with the invasion of Pavia by Frankish king Charlemagne.
After the 14th century external struggles finished with the creation of noble seignories, the Viscontis and later the Sforzas) in Milan.
Because of the richness in Lombardy area, French and Austrian armies attacked the area during 15th and 16th centuries.
After the Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan became an Austrian possession, belonging to the royal Austrian Habsbourgs of Spain. They did almost nothing to improve the economy of Lombardy. The eastern part was under the Republic of Venice.
Italy's economy during the 17th and 18th centuries stopped the development of Lombardy. In 1706 the Austrians came to power and defeated during the 18th century by the French armies. With the Napoleonic Empire, Lombardy became one of the semi-independent province of Napoleonic France.
In 1815 the Austrian rule was back in the form of state called Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The republic of 1848 short-lived, and with the Second Italian Independence War Lombardy was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1859.
Starting with the 19th century, and after World War II, Lombardy became the most developed area of Italy in economy.
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