Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is a historic art gallery and library in Milan founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in the early 17th century and opened to the public as a cultural and scholarly institution. It combines picture galleries with an extensive manuscript and rare-book library.

The picture gallery presents a chronological selection of paintings from Italian and Northern European masters, arranged across historic rooms that reflect the gallery’s centuries-old collecting. The library houses manuscript collections, drawings and prints, most famously the Codex Atlanticus by Leonardo da Vinci, which is preserved and shown under controlled conditions. Small exhibition rooms and periodic special displays present drawings, prints and selected library material to the public.

Established in the early 1600s by Cardinal Borromeo to support scholarship and public education, the Ambrosiana combined an art collection, an academy and a library; its collections have grown by acquisition and donation over subsequent centuries. The institution has long been a center for art historical research and manuscript studies.

Located in central Milan near the historic core, the Ambrosiana is accessible on foot from the city’s main squares and by public transport, forming part of Milan’s museum circuit.

• Founding date: Founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in the early 17th century (formally established 1618) as a combined library and art collection.
• Key works: Houses Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus in the library collection and several high-profile works such as Caravaggio's "Basket of Fruit" in the gallery.

What to See #

• Picture gallery and collections: Pinacoteca galleries that display paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries, including works by Lombard and Italian masters housed in historically arranged rooms.
• Library and manuscript collections: Ambrosiana Library and Sala Federiciana that contain manuscripts and drawings, most notably Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, open under regulated conditions for viewing.
• Drawings and prints rooms: Museum reading rooms and exhibition spaces that also hold drawings, prints and period documents related to the gallery's holdings.