With the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the world-renowned Brera Art Gallery in Milan coming to a close, local officials recently announced a project to renovate one of Italy’s most visited museums of modern and contemporary art.
Culture minister Sandro Bondi said the renovated museum would be an ‘Italian Louvre.’ The renovation will entail the expansion of the exhibition space and the transfer of the Accademia di belle arti di Brera, which is currently located in the museum building, to a nearby location.
Work, set to begin in 2010, is expected to be complete by 2015, just in time for Milan Expo. General director of Italy’s museums, Mario Resca, was appointed special commissioner to oversee the project. Bondi also spoke of the possibility of establishing a foundation, the Fondazione Grande Brera, through which both public and private sponsors could ‘contribute to the social and cultural re-birth’ of the city.
‘Italy is a cultural super-power. Brera will become one of the greatest museums in Europe, equal to the Louvre,’ Bondi said.
