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Carnevale in Milan is a combination of religious pomp, fancy-dress parade and Bacchanalian bash. Whereas carnivals elsewhere in the world – everywhere from Rio to Venice – end on Martedì Grasso (“Fat Tuesday”), Archbishop St Ambrose decreed that in Milan the party should go on until the following Saturday. No wonder they made him a saint.

Milan’s most important holiday is a biannual fashion trade fair. Even if you’re not here for the fashion shows, MODIT will affect your stay: hotels are booked well in advance. Plan (and pack) accordingly.

Two years after the Lombard League trounced Barbarossa in 1176 (see 1176: Lombard League Defeats Barbarossa), the town of Legnano began celebrating the victory. Over 800 yeas later they’re still at it, putting on a display of pageantry that ends with a horse race between the town’s eight contrade (districts).

Milan’s trendy Navigli canal district celebrates the start of summer on the first Sunday in June by bursting into a street fair with artisan stalls and live music.

August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, is the day most Italians head to the beach or lakes for a two-week holiday, and life outside the resorts comes to a virtual halt. Mantua does have a 15 August celebration of street artists, but Milan virtually shuts down. Only the restaurants and bars of the Navigli remain open.

Lake Maggiore’s gateway to the Borromean Islands (see Stresa) hosts five musical weeks of concerts in venues throughout town and up and down the lake shores.

The biggest Formula One race of the year takes place in mid-September. At other times, you can still watch macho men driving cars at mind-boggling speeds from April through to October.

The home of Amati and Stradivarius celebrates luthiers and musicians in a series of festivals. An annual exhibition of instruments is accompanied by related contests (see A Violin Concert in Cremona).

Milan celebrates its patron saint with a street fair surrounding Piazza Sant’Ambrogio. The name is said to have come from the delighted squeals of children who, upon beholding such a marvellous fair, once cried in Milanese dialect “Oh, how pretty! Oh, how pretty!”

La Scala is the most important opera house in the world, and if you ever doubted opera was art, a night at its 18th-century home will help you transcend all doubt. The season opens on 7 December – the feast day of Milan’s patron saint, Ambrose – and is a momentous occasion in the Milanese social calendar.