The territory of the Milan Metropolitan area has profoundly changed over recent years, giving rise to a unique urban area which is increasingly spread out and integrated.
The territory of the institutional Province of Milan has, however, been reduced due to the creation of new provinces: first that of Lodi, and more recently those of Monza and Brianza, which were officially established with Senate approval in 2004, by law no. 146/2004, and which held the first election for their own governing bodies during the elections of 2009.
The establishment of the new Province, composed of 55 communes in the northern zone of the Province of Milan, has redrawn the social and economic map of the area.

In the dedicated sections we provide a brief study of the various aspects concerning the Milanese area: