Monza

Monza (USˈmɒnzə,_ˈmoʊnzə,_ˈmoʊntsɑː, ˈmontsa; Monça, locally Monscia ˈmũːʃa; Modoetia) is a city and comune on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. Monza is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, which hosts the Formula One Italian Grand Prix with a massive Italian support tifosi for the Ferrari team. On 11 June 2004, Monza was designated the capital of the new province of Monza and Brianza. The new administrative arrangement came fully into effect in summer 2009; previously, Monza was a comune within the province of Milan. Monza is the third-largest city of Lombardy and is the most important economic, industrial and administrative centre of the Brianza area, supporting a textile industry and a publishing trade. Monza also hosts a department of the University of Milano-Bicocca, a Court of Justice and several offices of regional administration. Monza Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe. Monza is located in the high plains of Lombardy, between Brianza and Milan, at an altitude of above sea level. It is from the centre of the region's capital, although when considering the cities borders, they are separated by less than . Monza is about from Lecco and Como. Monza shares its position with Milan in the same metro area, and is a big part of its new province. Monza is crossed from north to south by the River Lambro. The river enters Monza from the north, between Via Aliprandi and Via Zanzi streets. This is an artificial fork of the river, created for defensive purposes in the early decades of the 14th century. The fork is known as Lambretto and it rejoins the main course of the Lambro as it exits to the south, leaving Monza through the now-demolished ancient circle of medieval walls. Another artificial stream is the Canale Villoresi, which was constructed in the late 19th century.