Milan Italy is sometimes unjustly coined as a “stop over” city with the majority of travelers stopping in from Venice or Rome to see the Last Supper and moving on. Most fail to realize just how deep you can dive into Italian Renaissance here!  The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana  is one of these lesser known gems that is often skipped over. So, don’t follow the crowd and don’t miss out! The Pinacotteca is the oldest museum in Milan. It dates back to 1618 when Cardinal Federico Brorromeo donated his personal collection to the Biblioteca. This museum has a pretty incredible permanent collection. It also allows you to get up close to many Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio and Raphael works. Some of the most notable masterpieces housed in the collection are The Musician by da Vinci, Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio and Adoration of the Magi by Titian.

Perhaps the most important piece in the permanent collection is Raphael’s Cartoon. This massive drawing was hand sketched by Raphael and used as a rough outline for his famous School of Athens fresco at the Vatican. The work was undergoing a large restoration project when we visited. However, the sketch is still visible as it is kept behind a large glass panel during this lengthy project.