Five Art Refuges in the City

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Art & Culture

Milan, a novel city

Discovering the writers of the past, between the places and the atmospheres of Milan that have inspired great masterpieces of literature

Art & Culture

Lodi, invitation to court

Scenes of court life in the majestic Castle of Sant'Angelo Lodigiano that dominates the plain with an unequaled past

Art & Culture

Not to be missed: Top 12 tourist attractions in Milan

Art & Culture

Visiting the Castle in the night

Art & Culture

10 good reasons visit Pavia

Art & Culture

Museums Lecco

Known above all for 'I Promessi Sposi' by Manzoni, Lecco is also rich in history and culture to be discovered in the Civic Museums

Art & Culture

Castles in Lombardy

The charm of Lombardy through its castles

Art & Culture

Bergamo Upper City

Medieval atmosphere on the top of a hill

Art & Culture

Monuments Mantua

The Gonzagas have made Mantua a jewel of the Italian Renaissance visible in its palaces, monuments, churches, culture and traditions

Art & Culture

Castles Bergamo

Bergamo saw in the past the proliferation of fortifications. Many, today, castles to visit

Art & Culture

The historic houses of Bergamo

Gardens, art, culture and beauty: the historic homes of the noble families of Bergamo are well worth a visit.

Art & Culture

Monuments Cremona

Cremona: a splendid city of art with a sober elegance and many monuments, to be visited on foot or by bicycle

Art & Culture

Insider Mantua

Art & Culture

The mantuan locations in Rigoletto

Between reality and fantasy, a musical itinerary retraces the locations of Verdi's opera set in Mantua in the sixteenth century

Art & Culture

Pezzotti from Valtellina

Perhaps the most famous artisan product from Valtellina, the “pezzotto” is a very resistant fabric made using scraps of fabric, hand-woven at the loom.