The Italian region with the capital Milano (Milan) lies in the far north and borders on Switzerland. Viticulture here goes back to the Etruscans, Venetians, Ligurians and Romans. The Mantuan-born poet and classic of Latin school literature Virgil (70-19 B.C.) tells of "rivers, lakes, olive trees, vines and golden fields of grain" in his homeland. He probably meant the hills around Lake Garda. The extensive Po Valley is mainly used for agriculture and livestock farming. The vineyards cover 24,700 hectares of vines. The best wine-growing areas are mainly located in the large area of the lakes Lago di Como, Lago di Garda and Lago d'Iseo between Bergamo and Verona, as well as in the Veltlin (Valtellina) on the Swiss border. In Lombardy, the largest quantity of spumante (sparkling wine) is produced according to the metodo classico (bottle fermentation). The capital Milan is the largest wine market in Italy.
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