Pinacoteca di Brera

Brera began as a teaching collection for the art academy and expanded enormously when Napoleonic decrees suppressed religious houses across northern Italy and their altarpieces were gathered here, which is why so many of the works are large church pieces removed from their original settings. Mantegna's Dead Christ, foreshortened from the soles of the feet, is here, along with Piero della Francesca's Montefeltro Altarpiece with its suspended egg, Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus and Hayez's The Kiss. The restoration workshop is visible from the galleries, and the academy still teaches in the same building.

History

The Palazzo Brera takes its name from the Germanic braida, a grassy opening in the city. The convent here passed to the Jesuits in 1572 and was rebuilt by Francesco Maria Richini in 1627 to 1628, and after the Jesuits were disbanded in 1773 the academy gathered the first paintings of its gallery during the reassignment of Italian art in the Napoleonic era (Wikipedia, Pinacoteca di Brera).

What you'll find

• Mantegna's Dead Christ - a body foreshortened from the feet.
• The Montefeltro Altarpiece - Piero della Francesca with the hanging egg.
• Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin - an early work of 1504.
• The visible restoration lab - conservation work seen from the galleries.

When to go

Year-round; the gallery closes Mondays. It is quieter than Milan's headline sights. Free entry on certain days brings queues. Allow at least three hours.

Practical notes

Many works are altarpieces removed from their churches and shown out of context. The building is shared with a working academy. Some rooms close for rotation.

Nearby

The Sforza Castle lies southwest; the Duomo is south.

Key facts