Cimitero Monumentale: Milan's Open-Air Sculpture Museum, 20 Minutes from Our B&B
Few visitors expect a cemetery to be one of the most beautiful places in Milan. Yet the Cimitero Monumentale is exactly that: an open-air museum of sculpture and architecture, free to enter, and one of the quietest and most extraordinary corners of the city. From Taylor's Love Solferino B&B in Brera it is an easy walk or a short metro ride.
Cimitero Monumentale, Milan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting There from Our B&B
On foot: approximately 1.6 km, about 20 minutes from Via Solferino 56, heading north-west through the Garibaldi district.
By metro: from Garibaldi FS (700 metres from the B&B) take the M5 lilac line one stop to Monumentale. The entrance is directly opposite the station. Door to door: around 12 minutes.
A Cemetery Designed as a Statement
Opened in 1866 to a design by Carlo Maciachini, the Monumentale was conceived at a moment when Milan's industrial families were accumulating great wealth – and wanted it remembered. The result is a hundred and twenty-five acres of competing ambition, where the leading sculptors and architects of the day were commissioned to build tombs that are, in effect, private artworks.
The styles run from neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque through Liberty (Italian Art Nouveau) to Rationalism and post-war abstraction. Walking the avenues is a lesson in a century and a half of Italian art history.
What to Look For
- Famedio – the great striped entrance hall, a hall of fame holding the tomb of the writer Alessandro Manzoni and memorials to distinguished Milanese.
- Campari family tomb – a full-size bronze reproduction of Leonardo's Last Supper by Giannino Castiglioni.
- Bernocchi Monument – a striking spiral tower with sculpted reliefs winding upwards.
- Toscanini tomb – the resting place of the conductor Arturo Toscanini.
- Shoah Memorial – a sober monument to the Milanese Jews deported from the city.
- The Jewish and non-Catholic sections – quieter, and architecturally quite distinct.
Practical Information
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, approximately 08:00 to 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
- Admission: free.
- Maps: a free map of the notable tombs is available at the entrance – worth collecting, as the site is very large.
- Guided tours: offered at weekends; check the Comune di Milano website.
- Best time to visit: morning, particularly in autumn or winter when the light is low and the crowds are minimal.
- Booking ahead: not required.
Visiting Respectfully
This is an active cemetery, and families still come here. Dress and behave as you would in a church, keep your voice down, and be discreet with photography near mourners. Allow at least ninety minutes; two to three hours if you want to see it properly.
Combine It With
The Monumentale sits just beyond Corso Como and Porta Nuova. You can easily combine a morning here with a walk back through Piazza Gae Aulenti and the Bosco Verticale – a striking contrast between nineteenth-century monuments and twenty-first-century towers, all within a short distance of the B&B.
Why Guests Choose Our Location
Taylor's Love Solferino B&B is at Via Solferino 56 in Zone 1, the historic centre, between Brera, Moscova and Corso Garibaldi. Both the M2 green line (Moscova, 300 metres) and the M5 lilac line (Garibaldi FS, 700 metres) are within walking distance, which puts most of Milan within twenty minutes.
For anyone looking for a short stay apartment in Milan centre rather than a hotel, the B&B offers free self check-in with a smart lock, so arrival time is never a problem. Porta Garibaldi FS connects directly to Malpensa Airport with the Malpensa Express.
Of all the places we recommend to guests, the Monumentale is the one they come back talking about most.