Milan woos art lovers by adding modern art museum to mini Louvre, da Vinci’s Last Supper
City to sell itself as destination for art lovers with belated addition of modern art museum to Pinacoteca di Brera, da Vinci’s Last Supper
Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera museum, conceived under Napoleon as a “little Louvre”, is finally getting a modern art addition first envisioned more than 50 years ago with the opening of Palazzo Citterio, home to one of the world’s most important collections of 20th century Italian art.
Completing the project, long beset by shifting priorities, periods of neglect and most recently an ill-fated architectural vision was a priority for Brera director Angelo Crespi when he took over in January.
The Palazzo Citterio opening completes a decades-old vision for a “Grande Brera”, which also encompasses the Pinacoteca and the Braidense National Library, just as it takes on greater heft in the Italian cultural landscape.
From December 2, the Grande Brera also incorporated into its fold Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, arguably Italy’s most famous masterpiece. The fragile mural is in a church complex a kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the Pinacoteca and Palazzo Citterio.
The merger creates a system of state-run museums in Milan that boosts Brera’s cachet.
