Pinacoteca Di Brera E Orto Botanico - Via Brera, 28 - Milano

The Neoclassical structure includes the premises of the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense (Braidense national library), the Astronomical Observatory, the Botanic Garden, the Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere (Lombard Institute of Science and Literature), and the Academy of Fine Arts. The Gallery was initially created to house a collection of works (mainly paintings arriving in Milan after the suppression of churches and monasteries) provided to assist Academy students in their art studies. It gradually grew through donations and bequests, and today it has become a vast collection of works of art. The building has long been one of Italy's most important cultural institutions.

At the centre of the first court, there is an imposing statue of Napoleon in the guise of Mars the peacemaker: this provides an indication of the artistic riches in the internal halls of the Gallery, where there are fine works by Raphael, Caravaggio, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Fattori and Canaletto. Over four hundred works from the 14th century to the latest trends in contemporary art, showcasing the success of Italian art worldwide.

For more information: http://www.brera.beniculturali.it/

The Botanic Garden is hidden behind the vast Brera building: it represents a historic garden but also a true open-air museum. A visit to this green islet of peace at the heart of Milan provides an opportunity to discover more about nature, and its variations from season to season.

In addition, the Astronomy Museum in the same building conserves valuable instruments from Milan University and from the Observatory. The latter is the oldest scientific research institution in the city. Desired by MariaTeresa of Austria, it was founded in the late 18th century by two Jesuit priests. Father Giuseppe Ruggero Boscovich, a professor of mathematics at the University of Pavia, played an active part in the Observatory’s foundation, and he helped spread the institution’s reputation by means of his work.

The museum also hiuses the Schiapparelli Dome, where the famous astronomer studied Mars by means of telescopic observations and theReichenbach multiplication circle, one of the first large-size instruments of this type, which has been housed in the north-west tower of the Observatory since 1810.