Orto Botanico di Brera

Orto Botanico di Brera brings a botanical garden into Milan’s historic centre, behind Palazzo di Brera and beside the Pinacoteca. Its 5,000 square metres hold brick-edged flower beds, mature trees, and paths among more than 300 plant species. Fulgenzio Vitman established the garden in 1774 under Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. A former Jesuit garden then became a study ground for medicine and pharmacology. After years of neglect, restoration returned the garden to public use in 2005. The University of Milan now manages this setting of plants, ponds, and historic structures.

You can see old Ginkgo biloba trees alongside Firmiana platanifolia, Juglans nigra, and Tilia. Eighteenth-century elliptical ponds sit near nineteenth-century greenhouses used by the Academy of Fine Arts. Bulb collections bring together hyacinths, narcissi, and tulips for herbaceous borders. Medicinal plants grow alongside Salvia, peonies, and aquilegias. Architectural details attributed to Giuseppe Piermarini add another layer to the garden’s history. The oldest Ginkgo biloba specimens here rank among Europe’s oldest.