Lombardy (ItalianLombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po Valley. Lombardy's capital is Milan, and the region is divided into the following provinces, all named after their capital cities:
Its eleven provinces are subdivided in a total of 1,562 communes, ranging in population from Milan (1,256,211) to Morterone, near lake Como, with only 33 inhabitants (2001 census).
The region is named for the Lombards or Langobardi, who came to this region after the fall of the (western) Roman Empire. There was a close relationship between the Frankish, Bavarian and Lombard nobility for many centuries.
The current (October 2002) president of Lombardy is Roberto Formigoni
