Author profile, useful information and background information about the city

In order to create the first two sections in my travel guide I had to do some research. Here is all the information I collected. I will cite my sources at the bottom. 

Author profile

Hello everyone! I am Sofia. I was born in Italy, not actually in Milan but I spent a lot of time there as my dad is from there and my grandparents live there. I have always been fascinated by this city where I spent most of my time as a child. I feel like there are so many things to do and, just like any other city in the world, an entire life wouldn’t be enough to discover every single bit of it. . Now I live in Sweden and I thought why not sharing the beauty of this city with everyone?
 I really hope you will enjoy “Everything everywhere” and your trip to Milan!

To check the process I followed for the creation of this guide check out my blog: http://sofiaspj.blogspot.se/

General information

Milan tourist office APT (Azienda di Promozione Turistica, via Marconi 1 Piazza Duomo), tel. 02.72524.300/301/302/303, fax 02.72524.350¬) Web-site: http://www.milanoinfotourist.com

Opening times:

Business Offices: 09:00-5:00, Monday to Friday
Banks: 09:00-13:30, 15:00-16:00, Monday to Friday
Post Offices: Via Cordusio is open from 08:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Friday and from 08:30 to 19:00 on Saturday.
Department Stores and Shops: 10:00-18:00, every day
Museums: check individual museums for opening times

Useful numbers:

Police (Carabinieri)	112
General Emergency (Soccorso pubblico di emergenza)	113
Fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco)	115
Forest fire (incendio boschivo)	1515
Car Breakdown assistance (soccorso stradale)	116
Ambulance (Emergenza sanitaria)	118
Pan-european emergencies	112

Transportation:

*Local transportation authority (ATM)

Taxis are white (prices are quite expensive)

Milan Metro 

Bus

How to get there:

Malpensa International Airport (IATA: MXP, ICAO: LIMC)
from there either Malpensa Express or Milano-Varese highway

Orio al Serio International Airport

Linate Airport (LIN)

Shuttle buses are available 24 hours a day

Calendar:

January: Fiera di Senigalia, Milano Moda Uomo

February: Carnevale ambrosiano

March: Milano San Remo, BIT – The Fiera   

April: Fiera dei Fiori, Stramilano

May: Estate all’idroscalo, Sagra del Carroccio

June: Festa del naviglio, sagra di san Giovanni

July: festival Latino-americano

August: Milano oBluegrass Festival

September: Serie A football

Milano Moda donna

October: Fiera di Chiaravalle

November: -

December: Christmas Day

Milan national public holidays

New Year's Day                                                                    1st January 
Epiphany                                                                               6th January 
Easter Monday                                                                      Early April 
Liberation Day and St. Mark's Feast Day                          25th April 
Labour Day                                                                           1st May 
Local Feast Day                                                                     29th June 
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary                              15th August 
All Saints Day                                                                        1st November 
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary         8th December
Christmas Eve                                                                       24th December 
Christmas Day                                                                       25th December 
Boxing Day / St. Stephen's Day                                           26th December

Money:

The general value used in Italy is EURO. The bills are available in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 denominations. The coins are available in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents.

Currency exchange booths: close to Duomo, airport and train station (banks offer a better rate)

It is advised to keep some cash as some businesses don’t have credit cards.

Background information

Milan is the second biggest city after Rome in Italy but people call it the business capital of the country. It is situated in the middle of the Lombardia region between the Alps and the river Po. It is obviously known for its fashion, glorious art, architecture and cuisine. There is also something called a Fashion Rectangle that includes big famous brands such as D&G, Versace and Armani. There are also many design industries and its huge stock exchange. There is quite a big football culture centred on the two Milanese teams Inter and AC Milan.
Tourists also really appreciate the amazing museums and art galleries.
There is so much history in this city that it would be impossible to look at everything.

Get to know Milan on the official website of the city: www.tourism.milan.it

Information abut Milan in Italian: Enciclopedia Treccani
Information about Milan in English: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Insight Guides, Lonely Planet

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Hotel Travel. "Milan Travel Guides." Hotel Travel.com. Make My Trip, 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hoteltravel.com%2Fitaly%2Fmilan%2Fguides%2Foverview.htm>.

Milano Angloinfo. "Emergency Telephone Numbers." AngloINFO Limited. AngloINFO, 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://milan.angloinfo.com/information/healthcare/emergencies/>.

Treccani. "Milano." Treccani, L'Enciclopedia Italiana. Enciclopedia Treccani, 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/milano/#leoriginieletromana-1>.

Britannica. "Milano." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382069/Milan/10349/History>.

Apa Publications. "Milan: Overview." Milan: Overview. Apa Publications UK, 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.insightguides.com/destinations/europe/italy/the-northwest/milan/overview>.

Lonely Planet. "Milan, Italy - Lonely Planet." Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet, 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/milan>.