TOP PLACES TO SEE IN MILAN

Museums, churches and all the a ractions that you should not miss in city. Reservations are recommended in some museums, ask your ‘Les Clefs D’Or’ concierge

A basilica founded by Bishop Ambrose, the façade and its doorway remains from the Romanesque period. Beautiful to visit the two cloisters.

Piazza San Simpliciano, 7 ph. +39 02 862274 sansimpliciano.it

Founded in the 4th century, the basilica is one of oldest churches in the city, a striking example of Romanesque architecture.

Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, 15 ph. +39 02 86450895 basilicasantambrogio.it

The basilica and convent of the parish of San Vi ore al Corpo. The architecture of the church, built between 1492 and 1493 at the behest of the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro as a mausoleum for his family, is one of the greatest achievements of the Renaissance in northern Italy. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is in the refectory of the convent.

Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie ph. +39 02 4676111 legraziemilano.it

Piazza Sant’Eustorgio hides traces of medieval Milan. The church bell tower is the tallest in town (seventy-five meters high), built in 1306 and is the oldest in Europe a er Big Ben. The Portinari Chapel is a Renaissance gem. Piazza Sant’Eustorgio, 1 ph. +39 02 58101583 santeustorgio.it

The third-largest Italian library, containing some million and a half items. Of this vast heritage, major subsets include 2,367 manuscripts, 40,000 autographs and more than 23,000 newspaper headlines. Since July 2015 the library has been part of

Via Brera, 28 ph. +39 02 72263401 bibliotecabraidense.org

Closed Sundays

While Leonardo da Vinci was in Milan, Duke Ludovico il Moro gave him a vineyard in the centre of the city in appreciation for the magnificent works he was creating to embellish the ducal city. This was Leonardo’s Vineyard: reopened to the public for Expo 2015, the vineyard is located near Santa Maria delle Grazie, in the courtyard of Casa degli Atellani, the fifteenth-century residence of Ludovico il Moro and the last remaining trace of the ancient Borgo delle Grazie.

Corso Magenta, 65 ph. +39 02 25061895 casadegliatellani.it

It was originally a fortress built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti in the 15th century. One hundred years later, Francesco Sforza made it his noble residence a er taking possession of Milan. Ludovico Sforza founded one of the most sophisticated courts in Europe and called the best artists of the time to embellish the castle, including Leonardo da Vinci and Filarete. The imposing building today is a unique museum complex divided into the Civic Museums, which house permanent exhibitions and a rich program of temporary art shows and events. It includes the Museum of Ancient Art, the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Museum of Furniture and Wooden Sculptures, the Trivulziana Library, the Pinacoteca, and the Pietà Rondanini.

Piazza Castello ph. +39 02 88463700 milanocastello.it

Closed Mondays, December 25, January 1, May 1

Built in two phases, the church of Santa Maria dates to 1486. Bramante was responsible for the architecture, creating a unique trompe-l’oeil choir. Via Torino, 17/19 ph. +39 02 874683

All the walls and ceilings inside the ex-convent San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore were painted by Bernardino Luini, who worked in the church between 1522 and 1529, depicting episodes of the Bible. This triumph of frescoes is considered to be the Milanese Sistine Chapel.

Corso Magenta, 13

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Founded in 1866 as a burial place open to all citizens of Milan, this identity has shied over time, and the cemetery has become a genuine anthem to Milan-ness, not only a resting place for the departed but an important part of the city’s history. The largest area is the Famedio, from the Latin famae aedes, temple of fame. Here lie Alessandro Manzoni, Carlo Ca aneo, Luca Beltrami, Leo Valiani, Bruno Munari, Carlo Forlanini and Salvatore Quasimodo. Piazzale Cimitero Monumentale ph. +39 02 88465600 comune.milano.it

Closed Mondays

This area was a residential neighbourhood, dominated by the imposing Fiera Campionaria warehouses, but with the advent of the new, daring Fiera in Rho the vacant place was the perfect opportunity for a complex architectural project, with beautiful houses, two towers designed by Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, a third skyscraper by Arata Isozaki known as “il Dri o,” a beautiful park and a lively shopping mall open every day.

Located in the square that shares its name, the Duomo is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and is Italy’s largest church. Symbol and protector of the Milanese people, the Madonnina is made in beaten and gilded copper plates, today supported by a framework of stainless steel. The Madonnina has stood on the main spire of the cathedral since 1774. The building has 135 pinnacles and contains some 3,400 statues and over 700 figures carved in marble relief.

Piazza del Duomo ph. +39 02 72023375 duomomilano.it

Designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, this shopping center’s foundation stone was laid in 1865 by Vi orio Emanuele II, hence its name. From its inception, the Galleria was a meeting place for the Milanese bourgeois, earning it the nickname Milan’s living room. It has a cross plan with an octagonal iron and glass roof, 47 metres high. The visitor’s gaze is drawn toward the floor mosaics, which represent the coats of arms of Rome, Flor- ence, Turin and Milan. Alongside some of the city’s historic cafes, inside the gallery you’ll find boutiques of the world’s great fashion houses.

Piazza del Duomo

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, frescoed from 1495-97 on the commission of Ludovico Sforza in the refectory of the Dominican monastery of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was immediately hailed by Leonardo’s contemporaries as the cornerstone of Renaissance art.

Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie ph. +39 02 4676111 legraziemilano.it

It was the city’s center of power beginning in the 13th century, and today it’s the top spot for cultural offerings, with a packed calendar of exhibitions.

Piazza Duomo, 12 ph. +39 02 88465230 palazzorealemilano.it

Closed Mondays

Thirty-eight hectares of English-style lawns, paths, copses, lakes and areas dedicated to sports. Enjoy the clean morning air and discover corners of the park that usually go unnoticed: admire the original Aquarium built in 1906, the Torre Branca by Gio Ponti (1933), the metaphysical Teatro by Alberto Burri (1973), recently given a new life, and De Chirico’s newly-restored Mysterious Baths fountain (1973).

The final, unfinished work of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Rondanini Pietà - on display at the new Castello Sforzesco Museum - is the artist’s testament and meditation on death and salvation. In this work the sculptor renounces bodily perfection and heroic beauty, depicting the dead Christ as a symbol of suffering.

Piazza Castello ph. +39 02 88463700 milanocastello.it

Closed Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May

Established in 1618 a er Cardinal Borromeo’s bequeathal of statues and paintings. Among the awe-inspiring works are Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician and Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit.

Piazza Pio XI, 2 ph. +39 02 806921 ambrosiana.it

Closed Mondays

PINACOTECA

The painting and sculpture gallery (Pinacoteca) flanked the Accademia di Belle Arti for educational purposes. When Milan became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (1805), bequests and acquisitions from Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Marche arrived at the gallery. Major works include Mantegna’s Dead Christ, Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin, Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus and others by Carpaccio, Piero della Francesca, Titian, Tintore o and Veronese. Via Brera, 28 ph. +39 02 72263230 pinacotecabrera.org

Closed Mondays

An exhibition space for modern and contemporary art in the Bicocca quarter of the city. Since it opened it has hosted shows by Marina Abramović, Carsten Höller, Alfredo Jaar, Philippe Parreno, Laure Prouvost and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It’s also the site of a permanent installation by Anselm Kiefer. Via Chiese, 2 ph. +39 02 66111573 pirellihangarbicocca.org

Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays

The Planetarium vaunts paintings of the constellations on its facade. Inside, look up at the sky from the 300 moving armchairs across a large dome. Corso Venezia, 57 ph. +39 02 88463340 lofficina.eu

PORTA NUOVA

Milan’s skyline was redrawn thanks to the Porta Nuova area, the city’s most contemporary neighbourhood and home to the Torre Unicredit, designed by Cesar Pelli, who was also behind the adjacent piazza Gae Aulenti, an open-air shopping mall. In October 2018, the Biblioteca degli Alberi Park was inaugurated, designed by the Dutch landscaper Petra Blaisse. Not too far away, Stefano Boeri’s award-winning residential buildings are a ention-grabbing: the two innovative towers, known as the Vertical Forest, are standing side-byside almost entirely covered in vegetation.

Piazzale Principessa Clotilde, 37

The area of Milan renowned all over the world as a luxury shopping district, packed with jewellers, boutiques and showrooms for the most exclusive, acclaimed and expensive names in clothing, design and interiors. So called because it is bordered by four famous streets: Via Monte Napoleone, Via Manzoni, Via della Spiga and Corso Venezia.

U erly unique in Italy. Like ancient stone stalagmites reaching skywards, the pinnacles tower above the shining marble cathedral. Every structural or ornamental detail of their architecture and decoration carries the legacy of the sculpture tradition handed down from the master stonemasons who bring their wisdom and expertise to everything they create.

Piazza Duomo, 14/A ph. +39 02 72023375 duomomilano.it

The 16th-century Palazzo Sormani is today the city library, boasting the largest collection of books, periodicals and multimedia in Milan. A reading garden at the back of the building is open from April to October.

Corso di Porta Vi oria, 6 ph. +39 800 880066

Closed Sunday

The most famous opera house in the world, with an audience as critical as it is appreciative, the theatre made its name in Milan’s history through Giuseppe Verdi, Arturo Toscanini and Maria Callas, who was discovered here in 1955. Inaugurated in 1778 and renowned since then for its acoustics. The La Scala season officially opens each year with an opera on December 7, the feast day of St. Ambrose, patron saint of the city.

Via Filodrammatici, 2 teatroallascala.org

Originally called Torre Li oria, this steel structure was built in 1933 to a design by architect Giò Ponti, and stands in Milan’s Sempione Park. At 108.6 metres, it is the tenth tallest accessible building in the city.

Viale Luigi Camoens, 2 ph. +39 02 3314120 museobranca.it

Closed Mondays

Situated in Parco Sempione, Palazzo dell’Arte has housed La Triennale (p. 154) since 1933, founded to promote design and applied arts through international shows. Today it’s home to the Triennale Design Museum, with exhibitions that retrace the history of iconic objects cra ed in Italy, tackling issues linked to design and production.

Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6 ph. +39 02 724341 triennale.org

A house museum which is the fruit of an extraordinary late 19th -century collection put together by two brothers- Barons Fausto and Giuseppe Baga i Valsecchi, who decided to renovate their family home in the heart of Milan in Renaissance Revival-style to house their rich collection of 15th and 16th -century works of art and artifacts.

Via Gesù, 5 ph. + 39 02 76006132

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

A historic residence in Milan. Designed by Piero Portaluppi, it was the home of Antonio Boschi (1896-1988) and Marieda di Stefano (1901-1968): the couple, over a lifetime, put together an extraordinary 20th-century contemporary art collection. On display in the rooms of their apartment are about three hundred pieces selected among the collection’s over two thousand paintings and sculptures, including works by Piero Marussig, Umberto Boccioni, Mario Sironi, Giogio de Chirico, Arturo Martini, Achille Funi, Giorgio Morandi, Filippo de Pisis, Lucio Fontana, Renato Biroli, Aligi Sassu, Roberto Crippa, Enrico Baj, Piero Manzoni.

Via Giorgio Jan, 15 ph. +39 02 88463614 casamuseoboschidistefano.it

Closed Mondays

Nestled in a large private garden with swimming pool and tennis court downtown Milan, Villa Necchi Campiglio was completed in 1935. It was designed by architect Piero Portaluppi for the Necchi Campiglio family, members of Milan’s wealthy and elegant upper middle class in the 1930s. In the second postwar period, the Villa was renovated by architect Tomaso Buzzi, who so ened Portaluppi’s linear style by adding 18th century-inspired, in particular, Louis XV-style furnishing elements.

Via Mozart, 14 ph. +39 02 76340121 casemuseo.it/project/necchi-campiglio

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

The Foundation was started to pursue Arnaldo Pomodoro’s goal of creating the “Home of Sculpture”: a place open to the rereading of 20th-century art and to the creativity of young artists, a collective space for all those who love art.

Via Vigevano, 9 ph. +39 02 89075394 fondazionearnaldopomodoro.it

Closed Mondays and Saturdays

The Fondazione Feltrinelli Porta Volta building is an urban cultural center designed by architects Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron. Opened in 2016 around the corner from Corso Como, the long steel and glass structure on Viale Pasubio, inspired by the farmstead buildings of traditional Lombard rural architecture, houses a bookstore, café, library and dedicated reading room.

Throughout the year, there is no shortage of public events and lectures.

Viale Pasubio, 5 ph. +39 02 4958341 fondazionefeltrinelli.it

A space entirely devoted to fine-art photography. The idea was conceived by Contrasto and Fondazione Corriere della Sera along with ATM for the purpose of giving more space to photography in all its expressions as contemporary language, art form and communication tool.

Via Cernaia, 7 ph. +39 02 58118067 formafoto.it

The Foundation was started 30 years a er the death of the architect to whom it owes its name at the studio of Franco Albini and Franca Helg. The Franco Albini collection includes about 22,000 designs, a photographic archive of over 6,000 vintage photos and 2,500 slides, in addition to models, writings, technical reports, books and magazines from the studio’s library. An invaluable heritage and a piece of our historical memory.

Via Telesio, 13 ph. +39 02 4982378 fondazionefrancoalbini.com

Closed Saturdays and Sundays

Established in 2008 for the purpose of preserving, pu ing in order and making available to the public- firstly in the form of virtual archive- whatever documents the creative activity of the fashion designer, by promoting initiatives in connection with Gianfranco Ferré’s philosophy, his design culture, his concept of fashion and aesthetics.

Via Tortona, 37 ph. +39 02 36580109 fondazionegianfrancoferre.com

The new Milan venue of the Fondazione Prada. Its multi-building architectural structure, a converted early 20th-century distillery with a combination of pre-existing buildings and three new edifices, Podium, Cinema and Torre, is a superb example of the interaction between conservative architecture and new styles. The building at the entrance to the new centre welcomes the public with two spaces: a children’s educational area and the Bar Luce, designed by Californian director Wes Anderson.

Largo Isarco, 2 ph. +39 02 56662611 fondazioneprada.org

Closed Tuesdays

It creates, promotes and makes known the various expressions of art and culture, in particular, the fields of design and architecture, as well as promoting and protecting, in Italy and abroad, the name and works of Achille Castiglioni as a designer and architect, while en- couraging a more widespread knowledge of Italian design.

Piazza Castello, 27 ph. +39 02 8053606 fondazioneachillecastiglioni.it

Established in 2010, it houses design and architecture exhibitions and offers guided visits, conferences and debates on these themes, as well as workshops and educational activities for students.

Via Vincenzo Bellini, 1 ph. +39 02 76002964 vicomagistre i.it

Closed Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays

The Gallerie d’Italia spans three jewels of Milanese aristocratic architecture. Palazzo Anguissola and Palazzo Brentani house masterpieces from the 19th century, from Canova to Boccioni, Hayez to Segantini. The third building, Palazzo Beltrami, houses 20th-century artworks and themed exhibitions. Piazza della Scala, 6 ph. +39 800167619 gallerieditalia.com

Closed Mondays

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Its halls display Francesco Hayez, Segantini, Canova and Medardo Rosso, plus temporary shows. Via Palestro, 16 ph. +39 02 88445943 gam-milano.com

Closed Mondays, December 25,

January 1, Easter Monday and May 1

Gió Marconi Gallery started in 1990 under the initiative of Gió Marconi who had previously created Studio Marconi 17, an experimental space for young artists and curators that he ran from 1987 to 1990. In its opening year, the gallery had showcased exhibitions by Martin Kippenberger, Mario Schifano as well as Richard Hamilton. In the 30 years to follow, has developed an ongoing vibrant program and its own consistent approach to exhibiting and combining brave choices well ahead of their time.

Via Tadino, 15/20 ph. +39 02 29404373 giomarconi.com

Closed Sundays and Mondays

An exhibition opened in Piazza della Scala, at the entrance to

Galleria Vi orio Emanuele, in March 2013. It was extended year a er year until it became a permanent exhibition. It showcases replicas of Leonardo’s inventions, many of which shown here for the first time ever: the Mechanical Eagle, the Great Kite, the Rapid Fire Crossbow, the Time Machine, the Harpsichord Viola, the Musical Cannon, the Aerial Screw with spring engine, the Submarine and the Giant Trumpet, just to mention a few of them. There are also over 200 3D interactive machines and a space entirely devoted to the Last Supper.

Piazza della Scala, entrance Galleria Vi orio Emanuele ph. +39 02 49519981 leonardo3.net

In 1999, Lia Rumma opened her art gallery’s branch in Milan, in the Brera neighborhood, with the solo exhibition by Enrico Castellani. For ten years, the gallery hosted a number of site-specific projects completing the exhibitions held in Naples. In 2010, Lia Rumma started the current gallery conceived for Art and Artists. A place designed to develop cultural relations, which has housed exhibitions and monumental projects by the gallery’s artists (Marina Abramovic, Vanessa Beecro , Victor Burgin, Clegg&Gumann, Gary Hill, Alfredo Jaar etc.) and, over the years, has encouraged intense collaboration with art galleries, curators, critics and collectors. Via Stilicone, 19 ph. +39 02 29000101 liarumma.it

Closed on Sundays and Mondays

In 2019 Massimo De Carlo has acquired a new iconic building in the centre of Milan, which has become the epicentre of its activities. One of the most famous projects by Portaluppi. The spiral staircase on the exterior of the building, for example, had been used for the “Casa del Sabato per gli sposi”, shown at the Milan’s Triennale. Over the years, the gallery’s artists such as Maurizio Ca elan, Rudolf Stingel, Piotr Uklański, Diego Perrone, Paola Pivi, Yan Pei-Ming, Kaari Upson, Andra Ursuta and Andrea Zi el have all gained international recognition, have been shown in galleries, museums and biennials in Europe and in the United States.

Viale Lombardia, 17 ph. +39 02 70003987 massimodecarlo.com

Closed Sunday and Monday

A Center for the development and spreading of children’s cultural projects for all ages, including visits to high schools and universities, training for teachers, educators and cultural workers, and theme conferences concerning temporary exhibitions-games.

Via Enrico Besana, 12 ph. +39 02 43980402 muba.it

Closed Mondays

The Museum of Cultures project dates back to 1990, when the City of Milan purchased the former industrial Ansaldo area to use it for cultural activities. The disused factories, veritable monuments of industrial archeology, were converted into workshops, studios and new creative spaces. It is now a multidisciplinary center devoted to different cultures across the world and houses great international exhibitions.

Via Tortona, 56 ph. +39 02 54917 mudec.it

It is housed in the former convent of the Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, and includes the Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Barbarian and Gandhara sections. The Prehistoric and Egyptian departments are housed in the Sforzesco Castle.

Corso Magenta, 15 ph. +39 02 88445208 museoarcheologicomilano.it

The oldest city museum in Milan, it is one of Europe’s most important natural history museums.

Corso Venezia, 55 ph. +39 02 88463337 museodistorianaturalemilano.it

Closed Mondays

Housed in Milan’s Palazzo Reale, on Piazza del Duomo. The Museum, spreading over 2,000 square meters and 26 rooms, showcases the Duomo’s Treasure and works of art from the Cathedral and the Veneranda Fabbrica’s storehouses. The pieces of the collection are arranged in chronological order to provide an overview of the history of the cathedral’s construction, from its foundation in 1386 to the 20th century.

Piazza del Duomo, 12 ph. +39 02 72023375 duomomilano.it

Closed Mondays

Among the newest museums in the city, it was opened in 2010 in Palazzo dell’Arengario. The museum hosts more than 400 works mostly by Italian artists of the 20th century. Boccioni, De Chirico, Morandi, Balla, Severini, Depero and Marine i are displayed chronologically, from Futurism to Arte Po- vera, represented here by Giovanni Anselmo. On the top floor visitors can find a neon by Lucio Fontana, Luce Spaziale, a spectacular installation that deserves to be seen under the so light of sundown.

Piazza Duomo, 8 ph. +39 02 88444061 museodelnovecento.org

Closed Mondays

Established in 1885, the museum has been located in the 18th -century Palazzo Morrigia, designed in 1775 by Giuseppe Piermarini close to the vast Brera complex, since 1951. In 1900, the Palazzo- which during Napoleon’s age housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, later on, the Ministry of War- became the property of the De Marchi family and then donated to the City of Milan by the wife of the famous naturalist Marco De Marchi and converted into a museum. The collections illustrate the period of Italian history from Napoleon’s first Italian campaign (1796) to Rome’s annexation to the Kingdom of Italy (1870).

Via Borgonuovo, 23 ph. +39 02 88464173 museodelrisorgimento.mi.it

Closed Mondays

THE NATIONAL

A tribute to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci in a beautiful cloister. Among the a ractions: trains, ships, the Toti submarine and an entire area dedicated to Space with a fragment of the Moon.

Via San Vi ore, 21 ph. +39 02 48555 1 museoscienza.org

Closed Mondays

Opened to the public in 1881, the Poldi Pezzoli Museum is a must-see for the beauty of its rooms, evocative of the past, from the Middle Ages to the 1700s and the Armory reinterpreted by contemporary artist Arnaldo Pomodoro, but also because of the variety and richness of its collections. Masterworks of painting and sculpture, carpets, laces and embroideries, arms and armors, jewelry, chinaware, glassware, furniture, sundials and mechanical clocks: over 5,000 ex- traordinary objects, from ancient times to the 19th-century, in a magical atmosphere.

Via Manzoni, 12 ph. +39 02 794889 museopoldipezzoli.it

Closed Tuesdays

A historic observatory established in the mid-1700s in the Brera building. In the early 1920s, the observatory section was moved to Merate, in the Brianza area. Part of the observatory’s fame is due to Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli’s observations of Mars’ channels in 1877.

Via Brera, 28 ph. +39 02 72320300 brera.inaf.it

Closed Saturdays and Sundays

The Pavilion of Contemporary Art (PAC) ranges from African artists to performance artists like Marina Abramovic. The Pavilion of Contemporary Art (PAC) ranges from African artists to performance artists such as Marina Abramovic.

Via Palestro, 14 ph. +39 02 88446359 pacmilano.it

Closed Mondays

PALAZZO LITTA CULTURA

Considered to be one of the finest examples of Milanese baroque architecture, the building currently houses the regional Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for Lombardy, Lombardy’s regional Museum Center and the Fine Arts and Landscape Office of the City of Milan.

Corso Magenta, 24 ph. +39 02 802941 lombardia.beniculturali.it

The first floor currently houses the Picture Gallery: a collection of paintings, sculptures, prints dating back to 1934. The other rooms of this aristocratic residence illustrate perfectly the eighteenth-century taste for home décor and furnishing.

Via Sant’Andrea, 6 ph. +39 02 88465735 costumemodaimmagine.mi.it

Closed Mondays

The Gallery specializes in modern and contemporary art. It has housed great exhibitions devoted to Italian and international artists such as Alighiero Boe i, Vincenzo Agne i, Gino De Dominicis, Sol Lewi , Shozo Shimamoto. Over the years, it has focused on young promising artists with solo exhibitions by Aaron Young, Marco Schifano, Juno Calypso and Alessandro Twombly.

Corso Monforte, 23 ph. +39 02795251 studiovisconti.net