The Brera District (Brera) is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Milan. This district is located in the historic center of Milan, near Sempione Park and a kilometer from the Milan Cathedral Duomo. This district is primarily attractive because it has been famous for its bohemian nature since ancient times; it was also called the Milanese “red-light district” and the Milanese Montmartre. Here is the state academy of fine arts with the famous and largest painting gallery in Milan, the Brera Pinacoteca, and the Brera Botanical Garden.
Part of the street of the same name, Brera, begins from the main historical building of the district – Palazzo Brera, where the academy and the Brera Pinacoteca are located, up to Pontaccio Street. The most visited and, in our opinion, interesting streets of the Brera district are: Palazzo Brera. In the main closed courtyard, you can see a bronze copy of the statue of Napoleon (entrance to the Pinacoteca is paid). Also, the narrow streets Fiori Chiari and Madonnina, where there is an abundance of cafes, restaurants, and bars, souvenir shops, and small stores located on the ground floors of ancient buildings.
In addition, on the streets of the Brera district, you can find interesting items, from jewelry and books to clothing and furniture. Here, entertaining street performers can also be found, as well as an extraordinary or mysterious person simply strolling the streets or selling handmade items, often very obscure products. Or perhaps you want to know your fortune? Here, that’s not a problem; fortune-tellers in the Brera district no longer surprise anyone.
Perhaps all the most eccentric personalities of Milan, from the artistic intelligentsia to those who simply crave showiness, gather in one place, displaying both themselves and their works (products) for public view, which can be purchased if desired.
At the beginning of Madonnina Street, in the small Piazza del Carmine, there is the Catholic Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, dating back to 1446. Here is also the editorial office of the main Milanese newspaper “Corriere della Sera”, galleries of contemporary artists, and the Academy of Fine Arts.
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