One of Italy's most prestigious art schools and Milan's largest gallery is located in the historic Brera district, just a few hundred metres from the city centre.

Allow extra time to visit, as the local collections, which include greats such as Titian, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, are truly vast. If you are at least a little bit interested in art, it is no problem to spend 3 hours or more here.

Book a hotel in Milan at a discount here

The palace that houses the Pinacoteca originally served as a Jesuit convent from the 16th century, and later from the 18th century as the home of an astronomical observatory and the adjacent grounds as a botanical garden, which is still in use today.

Since 1776 it has been home to the Academy of Arts and in the early 19th century regular exhibitions began to be held here, which grew into today's permanent exhibition and one of the largest displays of Italian art in the world.

The Gallery's collections

The Pinacoteca di Brera is, with a few exceptions in the number of units, devoted exclusively to paintings of Italian art. The permanent exhibitions are divided into nearly 40 rooms and comprise several thousand exhibits. The gallery is divided into 11 different categories:

Gallery of Frescoes
Gothic and late Gothic painting
Venetian painting of the 15th and 16th centuries
Lombard painting of the 15th and 16th centuries
Renaissance Ferrara, Emilia Romagna and Marche
Piero della Francesca, Bramante, Raphael
Central Italian painting of the 16th and 17th centuries
Caravaggio and Lombard 17th century
Foreign schools
18th century
19th century
20th century - Jesi and Vitali collections

There is little point in listing here all the important works you will encounter at the Brera Gallery, indeed there are hundreds of works by some of the most famous Italian artists. A preview of the complete collection can be found on the official website: pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezioni.

Admission and opening hours

The gallery is open daily except Mondays from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm (last entry).

Ticket prices are as follows:

Adults: 15 eur (allows unlimited admissions for 3 months, must always be booked online)
Students 18-25 years: 2 eur
under 18: free.

Tickets must be booked for exact dates via the official website.

How to get to the Pinakothek?

The Brera Gallery is located about 300 metres from Castello Sforzesco and 500 metres from Teatro alla Scala. The building is located in Via Brera, the main link between the old town of Brera and the centre of Milan.

The nearest metro station is Lanza (line M2), about 300 metres west.