Museum
Brera Art Gallery
Milan · Lombardy
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Museum
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Milan · Lombardy
- DURATION
- 1–2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Brera Art Gallery is Milan’s finest picture gallery, housed in the 17th-century Palazzo Brera in the artistic quarter of the same name. It was founded in 1809 by Napoleon as the art gallery of his Italian kingdom, filled with paintings taken from churches and convents across northern Italy, which is why it holds so many great altarpieces. The collection is rich in the Venetian and Lombard Renaissance — Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin, Piero della Francesca’s Brera Altarpiece with its egg hanging from the vault, Mantegna’s Dead Christ, and Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus — and the galleries are hung salon-style, the paintings frame to frame up the walls, as they were in the 19th century.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The Palazzo Brera was built in the 17th century for the Jesuit order, which housed a school, a library and an observatory there. After the Jesuits were suppressed, the building became a cultural institution, and in 1809 Napoleon established the Pinacoteca there as the national gallery of his Kingdom of Italy, filling it with paintings requisitioned from churches and convents across the north. The gallery opened to the public in 1809, on the occasion of Napoleon’s birthday. The collection grew through bequests and acquisitions in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the gallery was modernised and rehung in the 20th century while keeping its distinctive salon-style hanging.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin — the 1504 altarpiece that set the standard for High Renaissance composition.
Piero della Francesca’s Brera Altarpiece — the Montefeltro altarpiece with the ostrich egg hanging from the apse vault.
Mantegna’s Dead Christ — the stark foreshortened Lamentation, one of the most reproduced images of the Renaissance.
Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus — the moment of recognition at the table, with its dramatic gestures.
The salon-style hanging — the paintings hung frame to frame up the walls, as galleries were hung in the 19th century.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Brera is the gallery that holds the altarpieces of northern Italy, gathered by Napoleon from the churches they were painted for, and the one place to see the Venetian and Lombard Renaissance in Milan. Its salon-style hanging is itself a piece of museum history — the way galleries looked before the white cube. For a visitor, it is the natural complement to the Duomo and the Last Supper, and the quietest of the city’s major sights.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Brera Art Gallery
Brera Art Gallery, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
45.4711, 9.1871
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Milan
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Trattoria Milanese — a historic trattoria for the classic risotto alla Milanese and ossobuco, since 1933
Marchesi 1824 — one of Milan’s oldest pasticcerie, for breakfast pastries and coffee in the Brera quarter
Ristorante Cracco — Carlo Cracco’s celebrated modern Milanese restaurant in the Galleria, book well ahead
Luini — the famous panzerotto fry-shop near the Duomo, a Milanese street-food institution since 1888
Trattoria del Nuovo Macello — a buzzy modern trattoria near Porta Romana, honest cooking and a great wine list
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Bulgari Hotel Milano — a luxury hotel in a quiet quarter near La Scala, with a garden and a spa
Armani Hotel Milano — Giorgio Armani’s design hotel in the fashion quadrilateral, with a rooftop restaurant
Hotel Spadari al Duomo — a design hotel a short walk from the Duomo, good value for a central base
Room Mate Giulia — a stylish hotel beside the Duomo, designed by Patricia Urquiola
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
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