“How can I visit a museum of 24 rooms in such a short time? Is it worth it?” Don’t worry! Even with less than an hour, you can enjoy the masterpieces of the Ambrosiana and immerse yourself in this place of culture and beauty. Of course, you will have to choose, but you will find even a short visit so rewarding that… perhaps you will feel impelled to visit us again and see the rest!
Starting from the first floor, we suggest you admire the Basket of fruit by Caravaggio in Room 1 and then go to the Room of the Cartoon for the School of Athens by Raphael. Here you can admire one of the most wonderful works preserved in the Ambrosiana: the huge preliminary drawing, measuring 8 x 3 metres made by Raphael for his fresco of the School of Athens in the Vatican Stanze. The work, newly restored, has been relocated in Room 5, where a new installation will enable you to discover the secrets of the technique used by Raphael to create it, understand the cultural context that saw the birth of this masterpiece and retrace the steps in its restoration that brought it back to its former splendour.
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
Raphael (1483-1520), "La Scuola di Atene", 1510, cartone preparatorio, carboncino e biacca, 285x804 cm (dettaglio)
From Room 5, through Rooms 6 and 8, we advise you to go to the ground floor and visit the Aula Leonardi, where the Portrait of the Musician by Leonardo da Vinci and other works by important artists of his school await you.
Bernardino Luini (ca 1480-1532), "Incoronazione di spine", affresco
Gian Giacomo Caprotti, detto Salai (1480-1524), "San Giovanni Battista", 1510-1520, tempera e olio su tavola, 73x51 cm
Andrea Bianchi detto il Vespino (attivo 1612-1640), "Ultima Cena", olio su tela, 118x835 cm. Copia del Cenacolo di Leonardo da Vinci (Inv. 1002). Prima del restauro 2012
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), "Ritratto di Musico", c. 1485, olio su tavola, 44,7x32 cm
Finally, in the striking setting of the old reading room of the Library, the Sala Federiciana, you can admire the original drawings of the Codex Atlanticus of Leonardo da Vinci.
Less than an hour, but spent in the company of supreme geniuses of art history!
Sala Federiciana, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), foglio 858 recto. "Ala coperta con un panno e mossa con verricello a manovella; in basso a destra, particolare del verricello". Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), foglio 21 recto. "Girarrosto: in alto, mosso da un contrappeso; in basso, azionato da una corrente d'aria calda". Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), foglio 1058 verso. "Principio di reciprocità aerodinamica e studio del volo artificiale; in alto, paracadute; in basso, disegni di ala battente". Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Codice Atlantico (Codex Atlanticus), foglio 272 verso. "Planimetria di una fortificazione; regole per la creazione del "ludo geometrico"". Copyright Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
The most magical and ancient places of Milan: the ancient Forum where Constantine, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and Theodosius walked, and the lower Church of Santo Sepolcro, built by the Crusaders… as well as a colossal statue of St. Charles Borromeo on Lake Maggiore; a Museum-Home at the Sacro Monte of Varese; a Foundation dedicated to the promotion of young artists: this is also the Ambrosiana!
Discover the other institutions of the Ambrosiana
The church of San Sepolcro was founded in 1030, when a Milanese moneyer named Rozzone built a church on the ancient Roman forum. Archbishop Ariberto d’Intimiano solemnly consecrated it to the Holy Trinity.
Between 1990 and 1992, archaeological excavations conducted underneath the ancient cellars of the Ambrosiana brought to light a portion of the pavement of the ancient Roman forum, the heart of Mediolanum's political, economic and religious life.
The Marco Mantovani Foundation seeks to preserve and enhance the works of the sculptor Marco Mantovani, as evidence of the life of an artist dedicated to sculpture and art.
Lodovico Pogliaghi was one of the most significant Lombard artists to live in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Colossus of Saint Charles in Arona, which popular tradition has affectionately dubbed San Carlone, was created in the seventeenth century at the behest of Federico Borromeo, archbishop of Milan and founder of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
