A visit to the Villa Reale now Villa Belgioioso offers many surprises. It is one of the most important Neoclassical monuments of the city, and at present it hosts the Museo dell’Ottocento (19th century museum), also known as GAM (Galleria Arte Moderna).

The main entrance on the street side leads into the main court, from where you can enter the Galleria d’Arte Moderna. In this, one of the finest public art collections in Italy, there are many frescoes, sculptures, furniture pieces and chandeliers in interiors that exemplify aristocratic residences in Lombardy during the Neoclassical age, and with paintings that provide an accurate portrait of the history of art in this period. Significant works comprise “Portrait of Alessandro Manzoni” by Francesco Hayez, the “Two Mothers” by Giovanni Segantini, and Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings. There are also works illustrating experimental Divisionist techniques by Previati and De Dragon.

After having visited Villa Reale, there are two possible options.

The PAC (Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, contemporary art pavilion), which is directly adjacent to the internal court of Villa Reale, presents contemporary art exhibitions. The history of PAC began in 1947 when the Municipality of Milan, found the former stables of Villa Reale, destroyed by bombing in 1943. Since 1921, the Villa had been the location of the Gallery of Modern Art, (GAM) but the spaces were too small to house the most recent artistic trends and, ultimately, to become a museum for contemporary art. In March 1948 the project of architect Ignazio Gardella is approved. The Pavilion opened in 1954 as a location for the XX century collections.

Alternatively, you can leave the Villa and enter its gardens through the gate to the left of the main building. The monumental façade of the Villa forms a magnificent backdrop for the gardens, which, with its lakes, streams and works of art, was one of the first examples of landscaped gardens in Italy, designed by the architect who created the Villa, Leopoldo Pollack. Counts Belgioioso and Ercole Silva were also personally involved in the garden’s design, from 1790 to 1793.