Brera Artists and Alleyways

The Piazza del Carmine is framed by the yellow stucco of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, a structure that dominates the square with its wide, neo-gothic brick facade. For centuries, this space served as the heart of a bustling…

The Basilica of San Simpliciano features a rough, weathered brick facade that clearly reveals its ancient roots compared to the polished marble churches nearby. Built in the late fourth century under the direction of Saint Ambrose, this…

Via Fiori Chiari is a narrow, cobblestone artery cutting through the heart of the Brera district. It takes its name from the Convent of Santa Chiara, which once stood nearby. By the nineteen sixties, the street shed its industrial grit and…

The Jamaica bar features a sign with hand-painted, slightly peeling lettering that identifies it by name. Since nineteen eleven, this spot has served as the unofficial headquarters for the bohemian scene of Milan. Artists, journalists, and…

The Pinacoteca di Brera occupies a grand, rectangular courtyard enclosed by massive, colonnaded wings of a former Jesuit college. Inside, the collection holds some of the finest Italian paintings in existence, including Raphael’s Marriage…

A high iron gate separates the Brera Botanical Garden from the bustling streets of Milan. Inside, the space centers on two oval flowerbeds surrounded by century-old ginkgo biloba trees. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria ordered the garden…

Palazzo Citterio features a stark, eighteenth-century facade that hides a complex history behind its austere windows. Originally built for the Marquis Stampa di Soncino, the building spent decades as a private residence before becoming a…