Twinned with Milan since April 1973
Mayor: Lori Lightfoot
Population: 2.000.000 inhabitants
It is located in the State of Illinois on an area of 50 square km on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Its development accelerated rapidly towards the mid-nineteenth century, following massive immigration from Europe and Africa, the expansion of the railway network and the construction of a navigable canal which, through Illinois, enabled communication between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.
A multi-ethnic city, it is an important financial and industrial center in the United States and one of the largest trade fair centers in the world.
What was born about 150 years ago as a small community of traders is today the fulcrum of intense commercial and cultural exchanges, as demonstrated by O'Hare airport, one of the busiest in the world.
Chicago retains very little evidence of its past, after the fire that almost completely destroyed it in 1871. Since then, however, his buildings and style have influenced the history of American architecture.
