Palazzo Brera

The palazzo was built on the remains of a 14^th century monastery of the Umiliati order which was subsequently given to the Jesuits, who founded a school here. Francesco Maria Richini began in the early 17^th century to turn it into the solidly austere building we see today.

When the Jesuits were disbanded in 1773, the Collegio di Brera became state property and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria decided to use it to house several of the city’s leading cultural institutes. In addition to the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, she also assigned the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, the Osservatorio Astronomico and the Orto Botanico to her new foundation.
The man commissioned to design and execute the work was Giuseppe Piermarini, one of Italy’s leading Neoclassical architects. He was responsible for renovating the library (one room of which can be seen in Room I in the Pinacoteca, or picture gallery), for building the solemn entrance on Via Brera and for completing the courtyard. A bronze statue of Napoleon in the guise of Mars the Peacemaker, cast in Rome to a design by Antonio Canova, was erected in the centre of the courtyard in 1859. Porticos, courtyards, hallways and corridors were chosen throughout the 19^th century as settings for monuments publicly celebrating artists, benefactors, humanists and scientists associated with Brera and the Braidense. The best works in this extremely rich and little-known collection include the monuments to Cesare Beccaria by Pompeo Marchesi and to Giuseppe Parini by Gaetano Monti which can be admired on the monumental staircase leading up to the Pinacoteca.

Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera

The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera or Brera Fine Arts Academy, better known as the Accademia di Brera, is a state-run university situated in the Palazzo di Brera.

It is one of the oldest such schools in Italy, a living emblem of the history and the artists that have forged Italian art, making their mark on our country’s history and contributing to interaction between science, literature and the arts since 1776. The school continues today to play a leading role in the world of cultural creativity with unflagging enthusiasm.

Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense

The Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense is among the largest public libraries in Italy, belongs to the state and depends on the General Directorate for Libraries and Cultural Institutes of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.
Since July 2015 it has been part of the Brera Art Gallery museum system. The Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense was established in 1770 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, who decided to open it to the public from 1786. Purchases and donations increased the collections of printed books. From 1788, thanks to legal deposit provisions, all works published in the State of Milan reached the library. The holdings of the Braidense Library consist of more than 1,500,000 units in continuous growth, including manuscripts, autographs, incunabula, cinquecentine, printed monographs, periodicals, photographic prints, plate negatives, microfilm and microfiches, audiovisual, computer and sound materials. The Music Collections Research Office, founded in 1965 and housed in the Milan Conservatory Library since 1978, maintains the national catalog of printed and manuscript music. In 2003 the library was augmented by the Santa Teresa Media Library.

Mediateca Santa Teresa

The Mediateca (28 Moscova Street) is home to multimedia materials, including the regional legal depository of audiovisual, computer and sound materials. In addition, exclusive access to RAI’s Teche is available at the location.
Since July 2012 As a result of the agreement between the Regional Directorate for Cultural and Landscape Heritage of Lombardy, the Braidense National Library and FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano, La Cavallerizza was opened after a long restoration, which houses the archives of the Braidense National Library’s newspaper library and the FAI headquarters.

Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere

Napoleon founded the Istituto Lombardo in 1797, modelling it on the Institut de France, for the purpose of collecting and cataloguing discoveries and of perfecting the arts and sciences.
When Napoleon fell, the Istituto was initially taken over by the Austrian government and later (in 1859) by the Italian government. Its president in 1859 was Alessandro Manzoni. The Istituto, which has worked without a break since it was founded, is now managed independently under the auspices of the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo.

Orto botanico di Brera

The Orto Botanico di Brera or Brera Botanical Garden, created under Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1774, offers visitors a small haven of peace in the heart of the bustling city.

It hosts rwo of the oldest examples of the ginko biloba tree in Europe, a 40-metre lime tree and a Caucasian walnut tree.
The fascinating seat of the Museo Astronomico, or Astronomical Museum, houses a collection of old scientific instruments belonging to the Osservatorio Astronomico.
The museum is now part of the Università degli Studi di Milano.

Osservatorio astronomico di Brera

The Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (OAB), or Brera Astronomical Observatory, is a research institute of international standing and Milan’s oldest scientific institution.
It became one of the Italian Republic’s official scientific institutions in 1946 and joined the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in 2001.
The observatory has been housed in Palazzo di Brera since 1762, when Father Lagrange first promoted professional astronomical observation and research in Milan.

Amici di Brera

One of the oldest associations in Milan, the Amici di Brera or Friends of Brera have focused from the outset on promoting the conservation and enhancement of the historic Palazzo di Brera, with the museums and research institutes it hosts, and of Milan’s other civic museums, organising conferences, lectures, tours and trips in Milan, in Italy and abroad, as well as running educational activities and refresher courses. They support the institutions through direct sponsorship, fundraising campaigns and donations.