{"id":7545,"date":"2015-07-27T12:05:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T11:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=7545"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T13:09:05","slug":"pinacoteca-di-brera-milan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/pinacoteca-di-brera-milan","title":{"rendered":"Pinacoteca di Brera: The Best Art Museum You&#8217;ve Never Heard Of"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In Milan, the financial and fashion capital of the north of Italy, there\u2019s a small museum housing masterpieces from some of the biggest Italian artists. While most think of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/attractions\/the-vatican-museums\">Vatican Museums<\/a> or Uffizi Gallery as Italy\u2019s best art museums, the lesser-known <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brera.beniculturali.it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pinacoteca di Brera<\/a> is also considered one of the best art museums\u00a0in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7547\" style=\"width: 616px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/8623139696_2630599147_z.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7547\" class=\"wp-image-7547\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/8623139696_2630599147_z.jpg\" alt=\"The main entrance to the Palazzo Brera, the 13th-century building that houses the Pinacoteca di Brera. Photo by Fran\u00e7ois Philipp\" width=\"606\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7547\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The main entrance to the Palazzo Brera, the 13th-century building that houses the Pinacoteca. Photo by Fran\u00e7ois Philipp<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/pinacoteca-di-brera-milan\/#What_is_it\" >What is it?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/pinacoteca-di-brera-milan\/#What_is_there_to_see\" >What is there to see?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/pinacoteca-di-brera-milan\/#Where_is_it_and_how_do_I_get_there\" >Where is it and how do I get there?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/pinacoteca-di-brera-milan\/#What_else_do_I_need_to_know\" >What else do I need to know?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_it\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What is it?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Pinacoteca di Brera, or Brera Art Gallery, is one of the most important museums in Milan, if not Europe. It houses more than 400 works from the 14<sup>th<\/sup> to the 20<sup>th<\/sup> century by master painters such as Piero della Francesca, Raphael, and Caravaggio.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Located in the beautiful Palazzo Brera, it was created along with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.accademiabelleartiroma.it\/intro.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accademia di Belle Arti<\/a>, or Academy of Fine Arts, in 1776 to serve as a font of information for the students studying at the University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Palazzo itself is a work of art. The Jesuits built the Baroque palace at the end of the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century as a convent. After they were moved out, Palazzo Brera was remodeled in the neoclassical style.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Art Gallery was filled with works from across the territory, thanks to Napoleon taking control of Italy and declaring Milan the capital of the country. It is one of the few museums in Italy that wasn\u2019t formed from private collections, but by the hand of the Italian state.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_there_to_see\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What is there to see?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_7548\" style=\"width: 331px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/the-kiss.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7548\" class=\"wp-image-7548\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/the-kiss.jpg\" alt=\"The Kiss by Francesco Hayez is regarded as a symbol of Italian Romanticism, a nostalgic look back at the Middle Ages and a portrayal of the spirit of the Italian Unification. It's home is the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.\" width=\"321\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7548\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kiss by Francesco Hayez is regarded as a symbol of Italian Romanticism.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The artworks are displayed chronologically across six centuries. Expect to see mostly Italian painters, especially those from Lombardy and the Veneto region, though under Napoleon\u2019s rule there was an exchange with <a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/paris-tours\/louvre-museum-tour-last-entry\">the Louvre in Paris<\/a> that brought some Flemish paintings to Brera, including works by Rubens and Van Dyck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Must-see masterpieces include the \u201cDiscovery of the Body of St. Mark\u201d\u00a0by Tintoretto, Caravaggio&#8217;s \u201cSupper at Emmaus\u201d, &#8216;Virgin and Saints&#8217; by Piero della Francesca and the \u201cMarriage\u00a0of the Virgin\u201d\u00a0by Raphael, who used an entirely new perspective at the time it was painted. Another important piece is the incredibly sexy Il Bacio, or The Kiss, by Francesco Hayez. It depicts a couple in a passionate kiss. Though it\u2019s actually rather political, supposedly portraying the patriotic spirit of Italy\u2019s unification and freedom from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it\u2019s still considered one of the most romantic paintings in Italian history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Be sure to also see the incredible \u201cLamentation Of\u00a0Christ\u201d by Andrea Mantegna, a Renaissance painter native to Lombardia. The painting shows a realistic and tragic theme enhanced by Mantegna\u2019s mastery of perspective: The painting shows a foreshortened figure of Christ from the viewpoint of his feet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_is_it_and_how_do_I_get_there\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Where is it and how do I get there?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Pinacoteca di Brera is located in the hip, arty Brera neighborhood in Milan at via Brera, 28. Call or email with questions at (+39) 02 722 631\u00a0and <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:sbsae-mi.brera@beniculturali.it\">sbsae-mi.brera@beniculturali.it<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Closed on Mondays, the gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, as well as Sunday, from 8:30 a.m. &#8211; 7:15 p.m. On Saturdays it\u2019s open 8:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. There\u2019s free access the first Sunday of every month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can get there by taking the Piccolo Teatro \u2013 Brera metro stop on the green line. From there it\u2019s a short walk in a pleasant neighborhood filled with aperitivo bars and restaurants. Tickets cost 10 euro. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6703\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_12831.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6703\" class=\"wp-image-6703 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_12831.jpg\" alt=\"The Botanical Gardens behind the Pinacoteca di Brera\" width=\"800\" height=\"908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_12831.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_12831-768x872.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-6703\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Once run by the Jesuits, The Botanical Gardens were used to grow herbs and medicinal plants to teach to the medical students of Brera. Photo by Gina Mussio<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_else_do_I_need_to_know\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What else do I need to know?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When the Palazzo Brera was taken over from the Jesuits by Queen Maria Teresa of Austria it was meant to become the home of the most advanced institutes of culture in the city. Today is still lives up to that status. Besides the Academy and the beautiful Art Gallery, the Palazzo holds the Lombard Institute of Science and Literature, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.braidense.it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Braidense National Library<\/a>, the Astronomical Observatory and a Botanical Garden still maintained from the 1700s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> The Orto Botanico behind the Pinacoteca di Brera is open Apr-June 9 a.m.\u2013noon and 3\u20135 p.m. Mon-Fri and July\u2013Mar 9 a.m.\u2013noon. This tiny corner of the hectic city has aromatic herbs, wildflowers and\u00a0a small vegetable garden for research.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-7810\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/walks-pinterest-735-X-1500-16-502x1024.png\" alt=\"The Kiss, by Francesco Hayez is an incredibly sensual painting kept in the Picatoteca di Brera, one of the best art museums in the world. Find out what other masterpieces it holds.\" width=\"502\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Milan, the financial and fashion capital of the north of Italy, there\u2019s a small museum housing masterpieces from some of the biggest Italian artists. While most think of the Vatican Museums or Uffizi Gallery as Italy\u2019s best art museums, the lesser-known Pinacoteca di Brera is also considered one of the best art museums\u00a0in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":7548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[68,65,17,76],"ppma_author":[161],"class_list":["post-7545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-tips","tag-art","tag-act-like-a-local","tag-milan","tag-museums"],"authors":[{"term_id":161,"user_id":40,"is_guest":0,"slug":"ginamussio","display_name":"Gina Mussio","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d9497ce1b0417babd82886ad23b18998?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Mussio","first_name":"Gina","job_title":"","description":"Gina is a Midwesterner living in Lombardy, Italy where she writes about Italian culture, travel and food. She is a bilingual primary school teacher by day, forever interested in developing cross-culture communication skills across languages. Gina loves touring Italy's beautiful and tiny borghi with her family and exploring Italy's culture through its culinary history."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7545"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23868,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7545\/revisions\/23868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7545"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=7545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}