Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide Pinacoteca di Brera is a national art gallery in Milan, located in Palazzo Brera, on the homonymous street. Palazzo Brera also houses the National Braidense Library (Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense), the Brera Observatory, the Botanical Garden, the Lombard Institute of Sciences and Letters (Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere) and the Academy of Fine Arts (Accademia di Belle Arti). The museum, specialized in Venetian and Lombard art, exhibits some of the most famous Italian paintings, and offers an itinerary that ranges from prehistory to contemporary art, with masterpieces by artists of the 20th century. SHORT HISTORY The Brera Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1776 by decree of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, at the request of Count Carlo Giuseppe di Firmian. Andrea Appiani was appointed Commissioner for Fine Arts in 1805, and works of art from the churches suppressed by Napoleon began to be brought to Brera. In 1806, Giuseppe Bossi inaugurated the first museum of the Academy. In 1808, the Napoleonic Halls were created, to house the galleries of the Kingdom of Italy. On August 15, 1809, on Napoleon’s birthday, the halls were inaugurated, dominated by the great Monument to Napoleon I Read more [...]