FEDERICO’S COLLECTION
The museum’s first rooms display most of the works donated by the Founder when the Gallery opened to the public in 1618.
Highlights include paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Botticelli, and Titian.

FLEMISH PAINTINGS
The extensive collection of Flemish works, notably by Brueghel and Bril, reveals Federico Borromeo’s admiration for this style.

RAPHAEL’S CARTOON
The preparatory drawing for The School of Athens is one of the Ambrosiana’s most iconic pieces. This immense work underwent a four-year restoration, completed in 2019, and is now displayed in a specially designed setting by Studio Boeri.

FEDERICIANA HALL
This striking Library reading room, opened to the public in 1609, is home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.

PERISTYLE
The now-covered courtyard leading to the Library features an ancient Roman mosaic.

AULA LEONARDI
This gallery houses Leonardo’s only surviving panel painting in Milan, the celebrated Portrait of a Musician, alongside numerous works by his followers and 17th-century copies of some of his most renowned pieces.

COLLECTIONS FROM THE 17^TH TO 19^TH CENTURIES
The rooms housing post-founder collections were renovated in the early 20th century to reflect the richness and diversity of the Ambrosiana’s heritage. Alongside curiosities like a lock of Lucrezia Borgia’s hair, the decorated interiors of the Galbiati Wing showcase works by Moroni, Baschenis, Canova, and Hayez.

LOGGIAS
Two levels of loggias running along the Galbiati Wing offer a unique viewpoint of the beautiful and secluded Courtyard of the Magnificent Spirits.

CHURCH AND CRYPT OF SAN SEPOLCRO
This ancient church, built on two levels and founded in 1030, reflects a millennium of history. From Roman foundations – visible in the stone flooring of the lower church – to rediscovered 14th-century frescoes, the site also connects with figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Saint Charles Borromeo.

ROMAN FORUM
Beneath the Ambrosiana lies the archaeological remains of Milan’s ancient Roman forum, once the city’s main public square.

In addition to the main museum paths, guests may be granted access to view rare manuscripts from the Library’s collections, typically closed to the general public.
Viewings require authorization and availability from the Collegio dei Dottori of the Ambrosiana Library.

Manuscripts are shown in the following rooms:

• Room XXIII – up to 30 participants
• Sala della Rosa – up to 15 participants

The Ambrosiana Library houses over one million printed volumes and tens of thousands of manuscripts, drawings, and prints. Its collections include authors who shaped Western thought, from Galileo to Petrarch, Plautus to Pacioli, Rubens to Dürer, Piero della Francesca to Boccaccio, and Machiavelli to Cesare Beccaria.
There are also works reflecting the cultures of distant regions: Hebrew, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, and Indian manuscripts. You’ll also find nautical charts, papyri, incunabula, early printed books, and more. The most fragile and valuable manuscripts are stored in specially controlled environments. In these highly restricted areas – among the most secret in the complex – it is possible, on very rare occasions, to host up to 4 guests, no more than 4 times a year, for an exceptional private experience.

Three months of light, three years of darkness. This is the exhibition cycle of the 1,119 pages of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.
Sixteen pages are displayed at a time in the evocative Federiciana Room, offering glimpses into over 40 years of Leonardo’s genius.

Since 2008, this rotation – initiated by the Collegio dei Dottori – provides a unique experience, with pages grouped by changing themes and subjects, inviting deep immersion into Leonardo’s multifaceted mind.

In rare cases, it is possible to witness the changing of the pages – a moment both exceptional and intimate, reserved for a maximum of 10 people.

Originally opened to the public in 1609 as the Library’s reading room, the Federiciana Hall now hosts drawings from Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus. It represents the final and most prestigious stage of the Ambrosiana Art Gallery’s exhibition route.

Access: from Piazza San Sepolcro
Dimensions: 20,80 x 9,45 m
Room facilities: 1 microphone connected to a speaker on a tripod, Projector and 180 cm projection screen
Capacity: up to 60 guests

This space is named after the forum of Mediolanum — ancient Roman Milan — which once stood where the Ambrosiana and the Church of San Sepolcro are located today. It is suitable for exhibitions and temporary installations.

Access: private entrance from Piazza San Sepolcro (reception area, restrooms, and cloakroom available)
Dimensions: 20,80 x 9,45 m
Room facilities: 1 microphone connected to a speaker on a tripod, Projector and 180 cm projection screen, Dimmable lighting, Air conditioning
Capacity: up to 100 guests

The Accademie Room features large paintings by Simone Peterzano, Guido Reni, Gerolamo Savoldo, Cerano, and Palma the Younger.

Access: from Piazza PIO XI, 2
Dimensions: 15,70 x 8,70 m
Room facilities: Speaker’s table with microphones, 1 wireless microphone, PC-compatible projector, Audio/video recording and live streaming available
Seating arrangement and capacity: 100 chairs Up to 100 guests, including for catered events

 

Framed by beautiful loggias and the imposing Neo-Romanesque apse of the Church of San Sepolcro, the Courtyard of the Magnificent Spirits owes its name to the bronze statues it houses. These represent major figures of European culture, including Dante, Manzoni, Goethe, and Shakespeare. Among the columns are archaeological artifacts, and on the opposite façade, fragments of a fresco by Aurelio Luini can be seen.

Access: private entrance from via Cardinal Federico, 2
Dimensions: 10 x 21,6 m
Capacity: up to 99 guests

Formerly the main entrance to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, as indicated by the Latin inscription above its façade, this courtyard features the imposing statue of Cardinal Federico Borromeo, the founder, and the Church of San Sepolcro, whose brick walls enclose the space.

Access: from Piazza San Sepolcro
Dimensions: 10 x 21,6 m
Capacity: up to 80 guests

Arranged as a picture gallery, Room XXIII displays furniture and artworks from the Settala Museum, acquired by the Ambrosiana in 1751.

Access: from Piazza Pio XI, 2
Dimensions: 11 x 8,50 m
Room facilities: Speaker’s table, Integrated sound system with 1 wireless microphone, PC-compatible projector with a 180 cm freestanding screen, Professional audio service with audio/video recording capabilities
Seating arrangement: 45 chairs,10-15 seats available on benches

Once the sacristy of the Church of San Sepolcro and later used until the 1940s as the chapter room of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, this space is distinguished by 16thcentury cabinetry and two iron chandeliers crafted by Alessandro Minali.

Access: private entrance from via Cardinal Federico, 2
Dimensions: 10 x 7 m
Room facilities: Speaker’s table, Integrated sound system with 1 wireless microphone, PC-compatible projector with a 180 cm freestanding screen
Seating arrangement: 40 chairs,24 seats available for plated catering service

Defined by a series of arches, the Atrium is the monumental entrance to the Ambrosiana. This elongated space features several notable works, including casts of Trajan’s Column and a portrait of Cardinal Federico Borromeo, the founder of the institution.

Access: from Piazza Pio XI, 2 (reception area, restrooms, and cloakroom available)
Dimensions: 20,80 x 9,45 m
Capacity: up to 70 guests