Cardinal Federico Borromeo, one of Milan's native saints, founded this picture gallery in 1618 with the addition of his personal art collection to a bequest of books to Italy's first public library.

More-recent renovations have reunited the core works of the collection, including such treasures as Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit and Raphael's monumental preparatory drawing (known as a "cartoon") for The School of Athens, which hangs in the Vatican.

Heavy on Lombard artists, there are also paintings by Leonardo, Botticelli, Luini, Titian, and (Jan) Brueghel. Previous renovations done in the 1930s with their mosaics and stained-glass windows are worth a look, as are other odd items, including 18th-century scientific instruments and gloves worn by Napoléon at Waterloo.

Access to the library, the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, is limited to researchers who can apply for entrance tickets.