Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

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One of the great art collections in the world and one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, with religious art in particular amply represented.

Mantegna, Raphael, Caravaggio, Piero della Francesca are just a few of the artists represented in the collection, housed on the first floor of the Palazzo Brera, a former convent, Jesuit monastery, Observatory and library and finally, in the 18th century, the home of the Brera Academy situated on the ground floor of the building.

It's a wonderful collection but the sheer number of religious works can be draining - the Jesi collection of modern art (Braque, Modigliani, Marini etc) is a welcome relief to break it up.

Open Tues-Sunday, 8.30am-7.15pm
Entrance: 9 euros/6.50 concessions

Pinacoteca di Brera is housed in a large palace from the 14th/15th centuries. It was built for the Jesuits who founded a school, a library and an observatory here. The original art collection at Brera was intended as study material for the students at Accademia di Belle Arti, which was founded in 1776. Many of the paintings came from closed churches and convents in northern Italy. Through the years the collection has been extended by donations and purchases.

The museum now houses one of the most important art collections in Italy, and many masterpieces can be seen in the 38 exhibition rooms. There are mostly paintings by Italian artists and they are arranged in chronological order and with rooms with paintings of different schools. Among others you will find paintings by Rafael, Mantegna, Caravaggio, Foppa and Bellini.

The museum is open Tuesday - Sunday between 8.30 - 19.15.
Admission was 10 Euro (February 2009).

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After riding by here several times on my bicycle I got curious about what they were hiding under the white wrappings, so I went in and had a look at the big art museum called Pinacoteca di Brera.

This is not a Christo wrap-up event, by the way. As far as I can tell they are simply renovating the façade of the building.

The museum contains a huge and impressive collection of Italian paintings. It's open from 8:30 to 19:15 (last admission at 18:30) every day except Monday. (Also closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25.)

Admission is 5 Euros for a full-price ticket, but there is a long list of people who get in for half-price or for free, including all citizens of the European Union or Switzerland who are under 18 or over 65. (As an American I don't really qualify for this, but they let me in anyway because I have a German pensioner's card.)

Second photo: In the courtyard of Pinacoteca di Brera.

Third and fourth photos: In the museum.

Fifth photo: One of the nice and unusual things about this museum is that on the ground floor there is a big art school, so in the courtyard you can see lots of young arty types lounging around on the stone pavement.

This is Milan's most prestigious art gallery, housing many famous paintings and sculptures. The exhibition space is a bit drab however, and will only appeal to the seriously arty. It is closed on Mondays.

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The Pinacota di Brera is having one of the most important art collections of Italy, with paintings of artirts of XII to XX century such as Rafael, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca and Caravaggio.
The gallery is housed in the baroque Palazzo Brera, erected on the site of a fourteenth-century convent, rebuilt by the Jesuists in the seventeenth century.

Shedule:
Tuesday- Sunday
8.30 am-7.30pm
The ticket office closes 45 minutes before (exhibition rooms close 15 minutes before)

Ticket:
Standard rate: 5 Euro
From 13 october 2004 to 9 Jenuary 2005
standar rate: 8 Euro (including the visit of the exhibition "Fra Carnevale"

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"The Kiss" (1859) by Francesco Hayez seems to be the defining image of the gallery, although there are more famous works, notably by Caravaggio (Supper at Emmaus) and my favourtie is Mantegna's Dead Christ (1506)

Stunning courtyard entrance shows satue of Napoleon as a demigod.

Make sure you have 11 Euro for the Souvenir book - in a choice of languages.

Not as many places as Roma or Firenze for the art lover in Milano , but this is worth a leisurely all afternoon stroll - Tuesday to Sunday

PS We visited Valentine's Day 2006 - although not signposted anywhere, that I could see, couples were getting in for a single admission on the 14th only, a nice touch

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At number 28 on Via Brera stands the Brera Palace built on the site of the 14th century Monastery of the Humiliated Monks.

Brera is one of the most fashionable districts in Milan, with narrow streets, flanked by artists' ateliers around Accademia delle Belle Arti, a beautiful Baroque building, housing the famous Pinacoteca di Brera.

Brera is one of Italy's outstanding collections of paintings from the Lombard and Venetian schools.

The museum was founded during the Napoleonic period, in 1803 and was opened to the public in 1805.

Among the most important works displayed here we can count: the "Wedding of the Virgin" by Raffaello, the "Madonna of the Egg" by Piero della Francesca, the "Dead Christ" by Mantegna and many others.

The Brera Art Gallery in north-east Milan is home to one of Italy's most important art collections. It is housed in a late 16th-century palazzo and has 31 rooms, filled with great works of art. Many masterpieces by leading Italian artists are exhibited here, including works by Raphael, Caravaggio and Mantegna. There are also regular events and temporary exhibitions

The pinacoteca di Brera is the most famous museum of Milano. It includes famous paintings by great painters. It is forbidden to take photos inside, so I have photographed the poster. You can buy the guide of the museum with the reproductions of all the paintings exposed.

The Pinacoteca di Brera is one of the best art galleries that I've been to - not that I've been to many.

I just happened to go there because it was part of the 1/2 day Milan city tour - next time I will go on my own and spend a day absorbing the wonderful paintings. There are audioguides on rent which will guide you along. I had the good fortune to have a guide explain some of the most famous paintings such as Mantegna's Dead Christ, Giovanni Bellini's Virgin and the Child, Canaletto's Bacino di San Marco and Francesco Hayez's The Kiss.

The only thing that I didn't like was the fact that they don't allow you to take any pictures - not even without a flash.

There is a nude statue of Napolean at the entrance of the Pinacoteca di Brera. Our guide remarked that even though the rather well-endowed body is photographed a lot from the front, Milanese ladies prefer the rear (this drew pools of laughter and embarassed giggles from all around)