It took decades for the expansion project to begin Brera ‘s picture galleryin reception of the visionary intent of the former director Franco Russoli who already dreamed of creating one in the Seventies Great Brera, found the conditions to be successful. And in a few months, at the beginning of December 2024, the result will be visible to all, barring further postponements, with the inauguration of Citterio Palace, a building purchased by the Superintendence already in 1972 with the idea of hosting the modern art collections which do not have sufficient space in the main headquarters of the Art Gallery. An extension that will be connected to the historic headquarters from via Fiori Oscuri, via the Russoliano Corridor recovered from a 2014 project by architect Mario Bellini.
The construction site of Palazzo Citterio in view of the Grande Brera
The construction site of Palazzo Citterio, necessary to adapt the building to the new function, opened a year ago after a series of delays and postponements: the objective now is to make the opening to the public coincide with the inauguration of the opera season of the Teatro alla Scale, next December 7with the idea of presenting the city with a single large cultural complex which – alongside the Botanical Garden, the Academy, the Braidense library, the Astronomical Observatory and the Lombard Institute-Academy of Sciences and Letters – is enriched with a new piece.
By that date, however, the corridor connecting with the Art Gallery will not yet be completed; and so will the aerial coverage planned for the large access courtyard to the Palace (from via Brera 12), which will be completed later. Already defined, however, is the plan for the display of the works, currently exhibited in the Napoleonic Rooms of the Pinacoteca di Brera, which will be transferred to the new location, destined to host, as already foreseen by the former director James Bradburne (who passed the baton to Angelo Crespi), the Jesi and Vitali collections of 20th Century art and the core of post-1861 works, including the Fiumana by Pellizza da Volpedo.
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The Brera contemporary art collections at Palazzo Citterio
On the first floor of Palazzo Citterio, where the exhibition itinerary will be organized, the renovation and restoration intervention was planned to make the space a sort of house-museum, respecting the spaces and decorations of what was an apartment, including the large pink marble bathroom. But the building, destined to become the Brera Modern which was missing in the city, will also host contemporary art exhibitions and projects, in the large underground concrete hall designed in the 1980s by James Stirling in Brutalist style. The second floor will also be dedicated to temporary exhibitions, starting from the first scheduled exhibition, which will tell the architectural history of the Palazzo di Brera, from the 13th century to today. While in the underground spaces – the room designed by architect James Stirling in the 1980s – there will be an exhibition of Mario Ceroli.
Palazzo Citterio preview: the Swarovski exhibition
First, however, there will be access to Palazzo Citterio for the exhibition Swarovski – Masters of Lightwhich will open on 17 June 2024, during the Spring/Summer 2025 Men’s Fashion Weeks, scheduled from 14 to 18 June 2024. The exhibition will continue until July 14th, presenting a selection of 50 creations from Italian fashion houses (Gucci, Armani Privé, Atelier Versace, Fendi Couture and others), as well as stage costumes and jewels – such as the largest crystal “chaton” ever created – and a collection of high jewelry called “Galaxy”. A project, a tribute to the history of the Viennese company founded in 1895 by the British journalist Alexander Fury, presented as a preview in autumn 2023 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, and born to be itinerant. Milan will therefore host the first European stage of the exhibition, with free entry with reservations required (online, on the Swarovski website). An opportunity to browse through the spaces of the “new” Palazzo Citterio.
Livia Montagnoli
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