Why go

The Pinacoteca di Brera holds the finest collection of Italian painting in northern Italy. It was founded in 1809 under Napoleon, who filled it with altarpieces taken from churches and convents across his Italian kingdom, and it occupies the upper floor of the Palazzo di Brera, a 17th-century Jesuit college that also houses the Academy of Fine Arts, a library, an observatory and a botanical garden.

The galleries move from Gothic gold grounds to the Renaissance, the Baroque and the 19th century, and the masterpieces come thick and fast. The ticket now also covers Palazzo Citterio nearby, home to the 20th-century collections, together forming what is called the Grande Brera.

The building itself is part of the pleasure. The arcaded Cortile d’Onore at the entrance is guarded by Canova’s bronze statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, and the route upstairs passes through long, high galleries lit from above, with benches placed in front of the key works so you can take your time.

What to see

  • Mantegna’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The startlingly foreshortened body of Christ, seen from his feet.
  • Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin. A youthful masterpiece of 1504 set before a perfect circular temple.
  • Piero della Francesca’s Montefeltro Altarpiece. Calm, geometric and hung with a mysterious ostrich egg.
  • Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus. A sombre later version of the subject, painted in 1606.
  • Hayez’s The Kiss. The 1859 painting that became an emblem of Italian unification.

Plan your visit

The Pinacoteca opens Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30am to 7.15pm, with last entrance at 6pm, and closes on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Booking a time slot is required, either on the official Brera Booking site or through the call centre, which answers daily from 9am to 6pm.

The Grande Brera ticket costs €20 and includes the Pinacoteca at your booked time plus Palazzo Citterio on the same day and the following six days, so you can split the visit. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay €4 and under 18s go free. On the first Sunday of every month entry is free for everyone, but a reservation is still needed and slots go quickly.

Allow about two hours for the Pinacoteca itself. Temporary exhibitions are included in the ticket; from 6 October 2026 to 14 February 2027 the museum marks the centenary of its Friends’ association with gifts and acquisitions shown across the collection.

Getting there

Lanza on Metro line M2 and Montenapoleone on line M3 are each about seven minutes’ walk away, and the Duomo is about 15 minutes on foot via La Scala.

Tips

Weekday mornings are the calmest time. Pause at the glass-walled restoration laboratory, where conservators work in view of visitors, and use the free official app for commentary.

Nearby

The streets around the palace, especially Via Fiori Chiari and Via Madonnina, are full of galleries, cafés and wine bars, and the Orto Botanico di Brera behind the palace is a quiet green corner. The Castello Sforzesco is about ten minutes’ walk west, and the fashion streets of Via Montenapoleone are a similar distance east.