Brera Area

The Brera District, which includes the streets within Via Madonnina, Via Fiori Chiari, Via Fiori Scuri, Via S. Carpoforo, Via Mercato, used to be the Bohemian district in the fifties and sixties. The most popular meeting place of the time, Bar Jamaica, is still open for business.

Today Via Brera is lined with prestigious art galleries and artist ateliers and has its heart the Palazzo di Brera, designed by Francesco Maria Richini in 1627. The Palazzo is now home to the Academy of Fine Arts, Milan’s main art gallery, the Braidense Library, the Astronomical Observatory and the Botanical Garden.

Shopping in this area is an expression of Milanese elegance at its best. Nowhere is this truer than in Via Fiori Chiari: along this little gem of a street you may find many elegant shops and typical restaurants. This area also abounds with antique shops and it is characterised by the antique market which takes place on its cobbled streets every 3rd Saturday of the month.

The now deconsecrated Church of San Carpoforo, in nearby Via Formentini, hosts exhibitions and artistic events. The Nuovo Piccolo Teatro (or Teatro Strehler) designed by Marco Zanuso and completed in 1998 is just a 3 minute walk from the area

At a few hundred metres the Sforzesco Castle, one of Milan’s most important monuments, stands towering among the trees of Sempione Park. The Castle, built in stages by successive rulers, is the symbol of the city’s importance and wealth throughout the centuries.