Museums Archives ⋆ The Passenger

January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

L’Ultima Cena

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in northern Italy. Built initially for the Dominican order during the late 15th century, it occupies a quiet corner of the Corso Magenta district, offering a striking contrast to the city’s modern elegance. Its brick façade, modelled in the Lombard Gothic style, conceals a luminous interior remodelled under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who sought to turn this monastery into both a religious house and a dynastic mausoleum. Donato Bramante, one of the early masters of the High Renaissance, transformed the apse into a harmonious ensemble of light, colour, and proportion that typifies the transition from Gothic to humanist design.

January 2, 2026January 2, 2026

Pinacoteca di Brera

The Pinacoteca di Brera stands as one of Milano’s great cultural treasures, housed in a former Jesuit college that became a key site in the city’s artistic and intellectual life. Its origins trace back to the late 18th century, during the Napoleonic era, when artworks confiscated from churches and noble collections across northern Italy were brought together to form a public gallery. This was part of a broader Enlightenment vision, seeking to make art accessible to citizens and scholars. Over time, the collection grew under the direction of major curators and benefactors, transforming Brera into the artistic heart of Milano.

January 1, 2026January 1, 2026

Automobile

The Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Torino is one of Italy’s most fascinating and thoughtfully curated museums, offering a deep dive into the evolution of the car as both a technological marvel and a cultural symbol. Founded in 1932 by Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia, a passionate pioneer of Italian motoring culture, it stands as one of the world’s oldest automobile museums. The building itself, redesigned in the early 21st century, presents an elegant, modern structure along the river Po. Its architecture mirrors the spirit of the exhibits within – combining history, innovation, and motion into a seamless narrative that reflects Torino’s enduring connection to the automobile industry.

January 1, 2026January 1, 2026

Museo Egizio

The Museo Egizio in Torino ranks among the most remarkable collections of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt itself. It was founded in the early 19th century, stemming from the Savoy family’s fascination with the ancient world and their patronage of archaeological study. Over time, it grew under the direction of notable Egyptologists such as Ernesto Schiaparelli, whose early 20th-century expeditions brought back an extraordinary wealth of artefacts. The museum’s link to the intellectual and collecting culture of Enlightenment Europe, alongside its pioneering role in Egyptology, gives it a distinctly historical depth that few other museums can match.

December 30, 2025December 30, 2025

Museo del Novecento

The Museo del Novecento, located in the Palazzo dell’Arengario on Piazza del Duomo, offers a fascinating journey through Italian art of the twentieth century. Its elegant modernist interior contrasts beautifully with the surrounding Gothic and Renaissance architecture, making it a highlight of cultural Milano. The museum’s layout encourages a chronological exploration of the century, beginning with the early avant-garde movements that set the tone for Italian modernism. Large windows overlook the Duomo, creating a dialogue between the art inside and the city’s monumental exterior.

December 29, 2025December 29, 2025

Fondazione Prada

The Fondazione Prada in Milano represents one of the most distinctive cultural spaces in Italy, uniting contemporary art, architecture, and conceptual design. Established by the fashion house Prada in the 1990s, the foundation’s permanent home was inaugurated in 2015 in Largo Isarco, a former gin distillery dating back to the early 20th century. The transformation of the industrial site was overseen by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA, who preserved the site’s factory character while introducing striking modern elements such as the so-called ‘Haunted House’, a structure clad in dazzling gold leaf. The result is a deliberate interplay between old and new, where Milano’s industrial past meets the avant-garde.

December 28, 2025December 28, 2025

Triennale

The Triennale di Milano stands as one of Italy’s foremost institutions dedicated to design, architecture, and contemporary culture. Founded in 1923 in Monza as the Biennale of Decorative Arts before moving permanently to Milano in 1933, it soon established itself as a reflection of Italy’s modern identity. Its home, the Palazzo dell’Arte in Parco Sempione, was designed by Giovanni Muzio and remains an architectural statement in itself – rational yet elegant, designed to accommodate large-scale exhibitions that connect art, design, and technology.

December 28, 2025December 28, 2025

Scienza e tecnologia

Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano

The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milano is one of Europe’s most compelling institutions dedicated to science, innovation, and engineering. Housed in a former Benedictine monastery near the Navigli district, the museum combines architectural charm with vast, modern exhibition spaces. Its focus lies not only on Leonardo’s extraordinary visions but also on Italy’s broader contributions to industrial and technological progress. Visitors find a seamless blend of history and modernity here, where centuries-old inventions are presented alongside cutting-edge scientific demonstrations.

December 20, 2025December 21, 2025

Ophelia

The Museum Wiesbaden is one of the most significant cultural institutions in the German state of Hesse, combining art, natural history, and special exhibitions under one roof. Its origins date back to the early 19th century, when the foundation of the Nassau Antiquities Association laid the groundwork for a formal museum. The current building, an elegant neoclassical structure completed in 1915, stands at the edge of Wiesbaden’s city centre and was carefully restored after the damage it suffered in the Second World War. Over time, the museum evolved into a multidisciplinary institution dedicated to the visual arts, natural sciences, and decorative culture.

November 24, 2025November 26, 2025

Egyptian Civilization

Set along the edge of Fustat, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in القاهرة is one of Egypt’s most remarkable modern cultural achievements. Unlike the older institutions dedicated mainly to the grandeur of the pharaonic period, this museum offers a panoramic narration of Egypt’s entire civilizational development, from prehistoric times right through to the present day. The spacious, beautifully architected building integrates sleek contemporary design with motifs inspired by ancient Egyptian forms, creating a sense of continuity between the country’s deep past and its modern national identity.