Pinacoteca di Brera

Most visitors look for Andrea Mantegna's Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Raphael's The Marriage of the Virgin, and Giovanni Bellini's Pieta. The museum is especially strong in Italian painting from the Renaissance through later Lombard and Venetian schools.

The gallery's royal public opening was celebrated on August 15, 1809, during the Napoleonic period in Milan. Many works entered Brera through the reorganization of churches and collections under French rule in northern Italy.

Yes, the museum is housed in the Palazzo Brera at Via Brera 28 in Milan, sharing the complex historically associated with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. That academic origin explains why the collection was built partly as a teaching collection for artists.

The Pinacoteca di Brera is a broad painting gallery with works by Mantegna, Raphael, Bellini, and Caravaggio, while Leonardo's Last Supper is a single mural at Santa Maria delle Grazie. Many travelers pair them, but they are separate sites in Milan with separate tickets and time slots.