Milan (pron.: /mɪˈlæn/, /mɪˈlɑːn/; Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: Milan [miˈlaŋ]) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy. The city proper has a population of about 1.35 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in the EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of about 5.2 million. The massive suburban sprawl that followed the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and the growth of a vast commuter belt, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a metropolitan area of 7-9 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density.