Officials for the Paris-based International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE) said Milan defeated the western Turkish city of Izmir by 86 votes to 65, dashing Turkish hopes of hosting the world's biggest fair for the first time.
Milan triumphed despite ailing flag carrier Alitalia's decision to slash flights at the northern city's Malpensa airport under a survival plan and an international scare over mozzarella cheese potentially tainted with cancer-causing dioxin.
The decision in favor of Milan, home of Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire head of Italy's centre-right opposition, comes just two weeks ahead of a snap national election.
