The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a house museum that is the result of an extraordinary collection story of the late nineteenth century, which has two brothers as its protagonists: the barons Fausto (Milan, 1843 – 1914) and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi (Milan, 1845 – 1934). Starting in the 1880s, the two began renovating the family home in the heart of Milan via Gesù and Santo Spirito, following the demands of historicist culture in strict neo-Renaissance observance.
At the same time, they began to collect fifteenth-sixteenth-century paintings. They applied art artefacts to display them in their home to create a home inspired by the sixteenth-century homes in Lombardy.

Fausto and Giuseppe were personally involved in the restyling of the Palace, of whose splendour they were tireless creators. Although they had law degrees, they never used their qualifications for professional purposes: the centre of their interests was the renovation of the family home, its decoration and the collection of works of art intended for it. In this area, they developed skills that were also used in an appreciated activity as architects, often at the service of those noble families with whom they shared ambitions and lifestyles. If the setting up of the residence between via Gesù and Santo Spirito was a tireless joint undertaking for the two brothers, the rest of their existence passed between activities and tasks usual at the time for gentlemen of their rank. Alongside the administration of their assets, they also worked in numerous charitable institutions, participated in the lively town, travelled in Italy and abroad, and practised horse riding and other original sporting passions, such as balloon ascents. And the velocipede. United and close-knit, the two had very different personalities: brilliant and worldly Fausto, more reserved and inclined towards domestic tranquillity Giuseppe. The latter would have been responsible for providing continuity to the family thanks to the five children born from his marriage to Carolina Borromeo, celebrated in 1882.

Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024

THE BAGATTI VALSECCHI ONLUS FOUNDATION
After the deaths of Fausto and Giuseppe, the Bagatti Valsecchi house continued to be inhabited by their heirs until 1974. In that year, the now seventy-year-old Pasino, one of Giuseppe's sons, decided to set up the Bagatti Valsecchi Foundation, which donated the patrimony of works of art collected by his ancestors. At the same time, the Palace was sold to the Lombardy Region with the clause that the historical arrangements on the main floor were preserved in their integrity to safeguard the indissoluble link between "content" and "container", which is a distinctive feature of the Bagatti Valsecchi collector affair. Twenty years later, in 1994, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum opened to the public, which in 2019 celebrated its first 25 years, with almost 25 thousand visitors per year.

Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024
Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024
Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024
Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024
Visit the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum on the occasion of the Milano Portofino 2024

THE OBJECTIVES AND INITIATIVES
Today, the Bagatti Valsecchi Onlus Foundation has as its mission the management of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, which preserves and exhibits to the public, in its inseparable environment, the art collection formed in the second half of the 19th century by the brothers Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi. This collection can never be dismembered. The Foundation acts in the spirit of protection, promotion and valorisation of things of historical-artistic interest referred to in Law 1 June 1939, n. 1089.
The Bagatti Valsecchi Onlus Foundation also aims to valorise its heritage and things of historical-artistic interest, implementing initiatives to promote knowledge and ensure the best conditions for public use. Over the years, many cultural initiatives have animated the life of the Museum even beyond the usual opening hours: musical events, theatrical plays, conversations, meetings with personalities from the world of culture, guided tours, and aperitifs.

An excellent opportunity to discover, right in the heart of the city, one of the most beautiful and fascinating places in Milan or to revisit it!