Palazzo Brera or Palazzo di Brera is a monumental palace in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, in
Lombardy in northern Italy. It was a
Jesuit college for two hundred years. It now houses several cultural institutions including the
Accademia di Brera
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...
, the art academy of the city, and its gallery, the
Pinacoteca di Brera
The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
; the
Orto Botanico di Brera, a botanical garden; an observatory, the
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
The Brera Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera) is an astronomical observatory in the Brera district of Milan, Italy. It was built in the historic Palazzo Brera in 1764 by the Jesuit astronomer Roger Boscovich. Following the suppre ...
; the
Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere, a
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...
; and an important library, the
Biblioteca di Brera.
History
![Brera-MainCourtYard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Brera-MainCourtYard.jpg)
The origins of the palace lie in a monastery built on the lands of Guercio da Baggio, who may have been consul between 1150 and 1188. Shortly before 1178 it passed into the hands of the
Humiliati
The Humiliati (Italian ''Umiliati'') were an Italian religious order of men formed probably in the 12th century. It was suppressed by a papal bull in 1571 though an associated order of women continued into the 20th century.
Origin
The origin of ...
. The church of
Santa Maria in Brera (demolished in the 19th century) was built between 1180 and 1229; a
Gothic marble portal was added by the
Pisan sculptor
Giovanni di Balduccio
Giovanni di Balduccio (c. 1290 – after 1339) was an Italian sculptor of the Medieval period.
Life
The artist was born in Pisa, and likely did not train directly with the famous Pisan sculptor Andrea Pisano. He travelled to Milan to help s ...
between 1346 and 1348, and there were
frescoes by
Giovanni da Milano,
Vincenzo Foppa and
Bernardino Luini
Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having ...
.
After the suppression of the Humiliati by
Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
on 7 February 1571, the monastery became – at the request of
Carlo Borromeo
Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...
and with the approval of
Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
– a
Jesuit college. This grew to some 3000 students, and more space was needed. Between 1573 and 1590
Martino Bassi
Martino Bassi (1542–1591) was an Italian architect active in the Renaissance period, mainly in Milan. He was born in Seregno near Milan. He was involved in a public dispute regarding the baptistery of the Cathedral of Milan. He helped build the ...
was engaged to design a new building on the lines of the
Collegio Borromeo ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
in
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
. The present palace was built to designs of
Francesco Maria Richini
Francesco Maria Richini (also spelled Ricchini) (9 February 1584 – 24 April 1658) was an Italian Baroque architect.
Biography
He was born in Milan and trained under Lorenzo Binago. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Archbishop ...
from about 1615. Work began in 1627, but was interrupted by the
plague outbreak of 1630, and was resumed only in 1651; after Richini died in 1658, it was continued by his son Gian Domenico.
Following the
suppression of the Jesuits
The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits we ...
by
Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...
on 21 July 1773, the palace passed to the then rulers of northern Italy, the Austrian
Habsburg dynasty
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. In 1780
Giuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il P ...
completed the inner courtyard and built the imposing entrance from via Brera.
The church of Santa Maria in Brera was
deconsecrated
Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to ...
in 1806. After the
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic suppression of the convents in the early 19th century, the façade was torn down, and the nave of the church was divided horizontally; the upper floor became the Napoleonic rooms of the art gallery of the Accademia, and the lower floor housed the sculptures of the museum of antiquities.
In 1859 a bronze copy of
Antonio Canova's statue of ''
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
''Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker'' is a colossal heroic nude statue by the Italian artist Antonio Canova, of Napoleon I of France in the guise of the Roman god Mars. He holds a gilded Nike or Victory standing on an orb in his right hand and ...
'', cast in Rome in 1811 by Francesco Righetti and his son Luigi, was placed at the centre of the courtyard of the palace.
Institutions in the palace
From 1773 the palace became home to a number of cultural, scientific and artistic institutions. The
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
The Brera Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera) is an astronomical observatory in the Brera district of Milan, Italy. It was built in the historic Palazzo Brera in 1764 by the Jesuit astronomer Roger Boscovich. Following the suppre ...
was founded nine years earlier, in 1764, by the Jesuit
Ruggero Boscovich.
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
established the
Regia Biblioteca Braidense in 1773, expanded the existing Jesuit
herb garden
The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...
into the
Orto Botanico di Brera from 1774, and founded the
Reale Accademia di Belle Arti in 1776. The palace also housed the Scuole Palatine for philosophy and law, the
Gymnasium, laboratories for physics and chemistry, and the Società Patriottica, an agricultural society.
The picture gallery of the accademia, now the
Pinacoteca di Brera
The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, was started in 1806, in
Napoleonic times. In 1810 a
learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...
, the Istituto Reale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, founded by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
in 1797 as the Istituto Nazionale della Repubblica Cisalpina, was moved to Palazzo Brera; it is now the
Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere.
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
References
{{Authority control
Tourist attractions in Milan
Culture in Milan
Palaces in Milan