• Art & Culture

Five Art Refuges in the City

We can reveal some of the finest, most beautiful spaces that perhaps you did not know about

from IN-LOMBARDIA.IT

Every city has its hidden spots, where the dynamic nature and the hustle of daily living makes way for tranquillity and artistic contemplation. 

Everything changes in the city, continuously evolving and transforming. We don’t often find the time to stop and look at everything around us; we don’t always give art the opportunity to guide us through moments of peace and contemplation.

Lombardy has plenty of places to showcase art, culture and history; spaces where you can rediscover the pleasure of beautiful things, immersing yourselves in the historic atmospheres of ancient palazzos and the prestige of cultural institutions that have preserved their elegance over time. 

In the province's five capitals we can reveal some of the finest, most beautiful spaces that perhaps you did not know about, and where you can spend some time reading, walking through loggias or enjoying a coffee in a frescoed room.

Discover some of the region’s hidden cultural treasures.

Rotonda della Besana, Milan
To the north east of Milan the Rotonda della Besana stands out in its urban setting. This is a singular late-baroque building, where art and religious tourism come together. This fascinating, charming monument takes its name from the church - now deconsecrated - inside the brick portico. There was once a chapel in the centre of the burial area used for the dead from the Ospedale Maggiore, later converted to a church in 1695 and surrounded by a portico.

Read more
Biblioteca Teresiana, Mantua
Mantua's cultural treasures include the Biblioteca Teresiana, a library and an enchanting surprise amidst the city’s precious historic and literary heritage. It is just a stone’s throw from Piazza Dante, in the heart of the city and was founded in 1780 at the wishes of Maria Theresa of Austria, to whom the two sumptuous rooms of the library are dedicated. The first floor is home to the Palazzo degli Studi, a former Jesuit College, converted as part of the programme of cultural secularisation and reform of institutions by the Austrian empress.

Read more
Teatro Grande, Brescia
An artistic and cultural institution of great prestige, the Teatro Grande is a traditional opera treasure, with charming rooms and surprises to reveal. It stands on the very site where, in 1664, Brescia’s first public theatre was built, with the modern-day auditorium, built in 1810, from designs by architect Luigi Canonica and decorated by Girolamo Magnani in 1862. The stage still has part of its 19th-century structure and the boards have been trodden by some of the greatest artists in Italian opera.

Read more
Palazzo Bottigella Gandini, Pavia
Hidden among Pavia’s historic buildings is Palazzo Bottigella-Gandini, restored and now a space for contemporary art exhibitions. Pavia is a city just waiting to be explored, where you can lose yourselves in its cobbled streets and breathe in the atmosphere of its historic buildings. Very close to the Piazza del Municipio, a stone’s throw from the sumptuous structures that house the City Council we come to a large gateway looking onto the splendid Renaissance courtyard.

Read more
Chiostro di Sant'Agostino, Bergamo
The recently restored Chiostro Minore, the smaller cloister of the former Monastery of Sant’Agostino provides a space for dialogue and meeting in an artistic and spiritual setting. Visiting Upper Bergamo is always a good idea when you want to experience an atmosphere suspended in time. The numerous places consecrated to culture include the former Monastery of Sant’Agostino is a space to discover, with plenty to fascinate and enchant the visitor.

Read more

On the same topic

Show all

A visit to Cerreto Abbey

Cerreto Abbey: a Cistercian jewel of the province of Lodi 
Una visita all’Abbazia del Cerreto
  • Art & Culture

The leonardo ferryboat in imbersago

The Leonardo Ferryboat in Imbersago
  • Art & Culture

Discovering Pordenone

  • Art & Culture

STAI 2: Services for Accessible and Inclusive Tourism

  • Art & Culture

Treasure Hunt in the Monza Area of Brianza

Splendid villas, ancient basilicas, noble palazzos. The Monza area of Brianza is full of treasures to discover
Oratorio di San Vittore
  • Art & Culture

Contemporary Varese

Una guida alle architetture e nuovi spazi dedicati all'arte contemporanea: i percorsi del contemporaneo tra Varese, Laveno, Maccagno.
  • Art & Culture

Fossils Civic Museum

Museo Civico dei Fossili di Besano
  • Art & Culture

Monument Sondrio

Historical, artistic, traditional Sondrio in its many monuments ... and a railway station from which a special train departs
Monument Sondrio, what to see
  • Art & Culture

Monuments Monza

There are so many beauties to discover in the city that holds treasures not only in its Cathedral.
Monuments in Monza, culture in Lombardy
  • Art & Culture

Como by foot, by boat

A walk in Como between lake, neoclassical houses, a statue of Canova and a Grand Tour by boat
Villa Melzi D'Eril, Bellagio, Lago di Como
  • Art & Culture

The festival of Saint Bassianus in Lodi

Head to the centre of Lodi to celebrate the city's patron saint and discover a variety of traditions and handicrafts
Fiera di San Bassiano_Lodi
  • Art & Culture

Castles and fortifications around Lake Como

Several testimonies of a past rich in history, all to discover
@primalavaltellina.it
  • Art & Culture

Podcast: "Elsewhere in Lombardy"

Boundless beauty
@inLombardia_Adobestock
  • Art & Culture

Lombardy's highest steeples and bell towers

There are four bell towers from which to admire the region's beautiful landscapes and squares, all of them over 90 metres high
Lombardy's highest steeples and bell towers
  • Art & Culture

The Winter Songs

The legend of the coldest days in the year
  • Art & Culture

The Legend of the Giubiana

The Giubiana festival is a very popular tradition in Lombardy
Traditions in Como: The legend of the Giubiana
  • Art & Culture

Lago di Iseo: history, nature and…

From the recently rediscovered Roman spa in Predore to the Liberty architecture of Sarnico, via the enchanting town of Lovere and surprising natural phenomena
Lago di Iseo cultura, natura e...
  • Art & Culture

School trips

Cremona is the ideal destination for your school trip
  • Art & Culture

Bergamo Photo Gallery

An area to be discovered and visited
Discovering Bergamo from A to Z
  • Art & Culture

The cavallera road of the Muretto

An ancient alpine connecting corridor, a transit route for goods, people and culture
  • Art & Culture