Geography & Climate
Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardia Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region. Major tourist destinations in the region include the historic cities of Milan, Mantua, Pavia, Cremona and Bergamo, and the lakes Garda, Como, Maggiore and Iseo.

The official language, as in the rest of Italy, is Italian. The traditional local languages are the various dialects of Lombard (Western Lombard and Eastern Lombard), as well as some dialects of Emilian, spoken in Provinces of Mantua, Pavia and Cremona. These are not widely spoken due to intense immigration from other parts of Italy whose local dialects were not intelligible with Italian.

Lombardy is bordered by Switzerland (north: Canton Ticino and Canton Graubü and by the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna (south), Trentino-Alto Adige/Sül and Veneto (east), and Piedmont (west). Three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region: mountains, hills and plains - the latter being divided in Alta (high plains) and Bassa (low plains).

The most important mountainous area is an Alpine zone including the Lepontine and Rhaetian Alps, (Piz Bernina, 4055 m), the Bergamo Alps, the Ortles and Adamello massifs; it is followed by an Alpine foothills zone Prealpi, which include the main peaks are the Grigna Group (2,410 m), Resegone (1,875 m) and Presolana (2,521 m). The great Lombard lakes, all of glacial origin, lie in this zone. From west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano (only a small part is Italian), Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. South of the Alps lie

the hills characterized by a succession of low heights of morainic origin, formed during the last Ice Age and small barely fertile plateaux, with typical heaths and conifer woods. A minor mountainous are lies south of the Po, in the Appennines range.

The plains of Lombardy, formed from alluvial deposits, can be divided into the Alta - an upper, permeable ground zone in the north and a lower zone characterized - the Bassa - by the so-called line of fontanili (the spring waters rising on impermeable ground).

Anomalous compared with the three distinctions already made is the small region of the Oltrepòvese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. A large number of rivers, all direct or indirect tributaries of the Po, cross the plains of Lombardy. Major rivers, flowing west to east, are the Ticino, the outlet of Lake Maggiore, the Lambro, the Adda, outlet of Lake Como, the Mincio, outlet of Lake Garda, and the Oglio, the Lake Iseo outflow. There is a wide network of canals for irrigation purposes.

The continental nature of the climate is more accentuated on the plains, with high annual temperature changes (at Milan an average January temperature is 1.5 °C and 24 °C in July), and thick fog between October and February. The Alpine foothills lakes exercise a mitigating influence, permitting the cultivation of typically Mediterranean produce (olives, citrus fruit). In the Alpine zone, the valley floor is relatively mild in contrast with the colder higher areas (Bormio, 1,225 m, -1.4 °C average in January, 17.3 °C in July). Precipitations are more frequent in the Prealpine zone (up to 1,500-2,000 mm annually) than on the plains and Alpine zones (600 mm to 850 mm annually).

In the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The rare elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow and hornbeam woods and heaths are covered now by several protected areas. In the area of the great Alpine foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias, etc. The mountains area is characterized by the typical vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels (up to approximately 1,100 m) oak woods or broadleafed trees grow; on the mountain slopes (up to 2,000-2,200 m) beech trees grow at the lowest limits, with conifer woods higher up. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone (beyond 2,200 m).

The numerous species of endemic flora (the Lombard native species), typical mainly of the Lake Como area, include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflower and the cottony bellflowers.

Lombardy counts many protected areas: the most important are the Stelvio National Park (the largest Italian natural park), with typically alpine wildlife: red deer, roe-deer, ibex, chamois, foxes, ermine and also golden eagles; and the Ticino Valley Natural Park, instituted in 1974 on the Lombard side of the Ticino River to protect and conserve one of the last major examples of fluvial forest in Northern Italy.

Wines
Although most agricultural areas in Lombardy focus on food production rather than grape growing, and its grapes and wines have a difficult time when compared to the surrounding regions of Piedmont, Veneto, and Trentino, Lombardy is a respectable wine producing area.

That said, one could find very good local wine production, centered specifically on six main noble grape variety zones.

The Oltrepòvese, which means beyond the Po River and translates into an area roughly corresponding to the Pavia province, has a long tradition of excellent wine. Only recently has its wines acquired a well-deserved recognition that goes beyond the national borders. The tradition of selling these modestly priced wines locally in the countryside's osterie, or taverns, lined along the banks of the Ticino and Po rivers, has led to the lingering false impression that the local production was of lesser quality than wines produced in the neighboring regions.

The Valtellina DOC zone, centered around the province of Sondrio, produces some of the most appreciated regional wines based largely on the local version of Nebbiolo, the Piedmont noble grape known here as Chiavannesca. The Valtellina Superiore DOCs, which are usually differentiated

by the area where the grape was grown, are especially good.

The province of Brescia, which includes the Franciacorta zone with its rich reds, excellent whites, and outstanding sparkling wines, is the third major wine producing area. There are about 70 wineries within the Franciacorta zone, and some of them, such as the Berlucchi, producers of arguably the best Italian sparkling wines, and the Ca del Bosco, are recognized national leaders in quality and prestige. In addition, there are two more DOC zones, the Cellatica and Botticino, that are closer to the city of Brescia, and other notable wines, such as the Trebbiano di Lugana, are produced on the Brescian shores of the Garda Lake.

The three other main producing areas, though less noteworthy, create some respectable wines such as the Valcalepio DOC in the province of Bergamo, the Lambrusco Mantovano, produced around Mantova near the border with Emilia-Romagna and the tiny zone of San Colombano al Lambro, in the province of Milan.

"Lombardy." Wikipedia (accessed 10/10/2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombardy,_Italy

Wine Country. "Lombardy: The Business Center of Italy" (accessed 10/10/2009)
http://winecountry.it/regions/lombardy/index.html