Why go

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is one of the oldest public galleries in Europe and one of Milan’s most rewarding small museums. Cardinal Federico Borromeo founded the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in 1609 as one of the first libraries open to scholars, and added the picture gallery in 1618 to give artists models to study. His personal collection, enriched over four centuries, now fills more than twenty rooms a few minutes from the Duomo.

The museum is compact but packed with masterpieces, and it holds the largest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings anywhere: the Codex Atlanticus, more than a thousand sheets of notes and designs, shown in rotating displays.

What to see

  • Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit. Often called the first true still life in Italian art, with every bruise and wormhole painted.
  • Raphael’s cartoon for The School of Athens. The huge full-size drawing for the Vatican fresco, in a room of its own.
  • Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician. His only surviving portrait of a man, shown in the Aula Leonardi.
  • Botticelli’s Madonna of the Pavilion. A tender circular painting framed by angels.
  • The Sala Federiciana. The 17th-century reading room where pages of the Codex Atlanticus are displayed.

Plan your visit

The Pinacoteca and the Crypt of San Sepolcro open every day except Wednesday from 10am to 6pm, and the ticket office closes at 5.15pm. A full visit of the gallery takes about 90 minutes and the crypt about 30 minutes.

From 1 October 2026 a single ticket covers both sites. It costs €20 for adults, €5 for children aged 6 to 14, €13 for under 18s and university students and €15 for over 65s, with under 6s free. Booking is not compulsory but is recommended, and online tickets carry a €1.50 booking fee.

The Crypt of San Sepolcro, entered from Piazza San Sepolcro around the corner, lies beneath an 11th-century church on the site of the Roman forum, close to what was once the geographical centre of the city. Leonardo is believed to have studied here.

Getting there

Cordusio station on Metro line M1 and Duomo station on lines M1 and M3 are both about five minutes’ walk away. Trams 12, 14 and 16 stop at Orefici/Cantù.

Tips

Follow the museum’s suggested route: room 1 for Caravaggio, room 2 for Botticelli, room 5 for Raphael, then the Aula Leonardi and the Sala Federiciana. Remember the Wednesday closure when planning your days.

The Ambrosiana is usually far less crowded than the Duomo or the Last Supper, which makes it a good choice for the middle of the day. The library’s reading rooms are reserved for researchers, but the Sala Federiciana, the original reading room lined with wooden shelves, is part of the museum route and gives a sense of Borromeo’s vision of a place for learning open to all.

Nearby

The Duomo is five minutes’ walk east, and Piazza dei Mercanti, the medieval market square, is just north. Via Torino, one of Milan’s busiest shopping streets, runs south past the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro.