Palazzo Brera
| Palazzo Brera | |
|---|---|
Entrance to the palace
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| Alternative names | Palazzo di Brera |
| General information | |
| Address | via Brera 28 |
| Town or city | Milan |
| Country | Italy |
| Coordinates | 45°28′20″N 9°11′17″E / 45.47222°N 9.18806°ECoordinates: 45°28′20″N 9°11′17″E / 45.47222°N 9.18806°E |
| Construction started | circa 1615 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Francesco Maria Richini |
| Other designers | |
Palazzo Brera or Palazzo di Brera is a monumental palace in Milan, 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 art academy of the city, and its gallery, the Pinacoteca di Brera; the Orto Botanico di Brera, a botanical garden; an observatory, the Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera; the Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere, a learned society; and an important library, the Biblioteca di Brera.
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 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 between 1346 and 1348, and there were frescoes by Giovanni da Milano, Vincenzo Foppa and Bernardino Luini.
After the suppression of the Humiliati by Pius V on 7 February 1571, the monastery became – at the request of Carlo Borromeo and with the approval of Gregory XIII – a Jesuit college. This grew to some 3000 students, and more space was needed. Between 1573 and 1590 Martino Bassi was engaged to design a new building on the lines of the Collegio Borromeo in Pavia. The present palace was built to designs of Francesco Maria Richini 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.
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