Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

The Ambrosiana is one of Milan's quieter treasures, a library and picture gallery founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in the early 17th century, a few minutes' walk from the Duomo. It remains a working research library, and the gallery rooms are arranged around its historic core. The Biblioteca Ambrosiana opened to the public in 1609 and was one of the earliest public libraries in Europe. The cardinal then built rooms for his own paintings and drawings, and the gallery he created, the Pinacoteca, still forms the core of the collection.

Several works alone justify a visit. Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit is often described as one of the first true still lifes in Italian painting. Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of a Musician, painted in Milan in the 1480s, is the only one of his portraits in the city. Raphael's large preparatory cartoon for The School of Athens, the fresco in the Vatican, is displayed in a darkened room of its own, and there are paintings by Botticelli, Titian, Bramantino and Jan Brueghel.

The library holds Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus, the largest single collection of his drawings and notes, covering everything from flying machines to weapons and geometry. It was acquired in 1637. Sheets from the codex are shown in rotating exhibitions, so what you see will change between visits. The Ambrosiana also runs temporary exhibitions; check the website for current shows.

The museum is compact compared with Brera and rarely crowded, which makes it a good choice on a busy day in the centre. Allow around one and a half to two hours. Tickets can be bought online. Visitors with reduced mobility should contact the museum in advance to plan their route. Children may enjoy the Leonardo drawings, but the visit suits adults with an interest in art and history best.

The entrance is on Piazza Pio XI, a small square between Via Spadari and Via Cantù. The Duomo and Cordusio metro stops are both about five minutes' walk away. The food shops of Via Spadari, the Piazza dei Mercanti and the Duomo are all close by, so a visit fits easily into a day in the historic centre.