The collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera includes some of the greatest masterpieces of Italian and foreign art from the 13th to the 20th century. The works are displayed on the first floor of the building, where the Academy of Fine Arts is also located.
The building itself, which dates back to the late Baroque period, was built on the remains of a 14th century monastery of the Humiliati religious order. The Academy of Fine Arts has been housed there since the second part of the 18th century thanks to the intervention of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria.
The Pinacoteca museum, which opened in 1809 thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte, was born as a collection of the finest works of art and was dedicated to the education of students. The collection included Italian art masterpieces taken from churches and monasteries that were suppressed at the time when Milan was the capital city of the Kingdom of Italy.
Unlike other great Italian museums, the Pinacoteca di Brera was not founded thanks to private collections belonging to monarchs or noble families, but through a political action by the state. The collection has subsequently been enlarged through exchanges, acquisitions and donations.
The 20th century works of art of the Pinacoteca come from donations by the Jesi and Vitali families.