Point of interest
Pinacoteca di Brera
in Milan, Italy
One of Italy's great art galleries, set in the bohemian Brera quarter, holding masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, Mantegna and Hayez.
Where it is
The Pinacoteca occupies the Palazzo di Brera at Via Brera 28, in the namesake Brera district, an artistic quarter full of galleries and boutiques.
Address: 28 Via Brera, 20121 Milan
What it is
It holds one of the foremost collections of Italian painting from the 13th to the 20th century, with masterpieces such as Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin, Mantegna's Dead Christ and works by Caravaggio. Since December 2024 the neighbouring Palazzo Citterio has expanded the collection into the long-awaited Grande Brera.
History
Born from a teaching collection of the fine-arts academy, it was officially founded as a pinacoteca in 1809 under Napoleon. In the following years it filled with works taken from suppressed churches and convents across Lombardy and the Kingdom of Italy.