The hidden Ambrosiana: from West to East
Over the course of more than four centuries, the Ambrosiana — both Library and Pinacoteca — has assembled an extraordinary collection of artworks, manuscripts, printed books, drawings, and artifacts from across the globe: precious witnesses to cultures and civilizations spanning over 1,500 years of history.
Of the nearly 3,000 works housed in the Pinacoteca, only a selection is displayed in the public galleries, while the vast holdings of the Library — comprising more than one million printed volumes and approximately 40,000 manuscripts, drawings, and engravings — are generally preserved in the archives and accessible only on special occasions.
Now in its third edition, this exhibition continues its mission of bringing to light works, objects, and artifacts that are seldom seen, offering visitors a rare opportunity to discover some of the treasures kept within the Ambrosiana’s storerooms.
The exhibition proposes a journey between West and East through works and artifacts from diverse cultures: from Pre-Columbian bowls from Peru to Capodimonte porcelain, and on to Japanese scrolls. This path highlights the diversity of the Ambrosian collections and the cultural exchanges that, over the centuries, have connected distant worlds, offering visitors an itinerary of curiosities, rarities, and artistic testimonies that reveal the extraordinary richness of what usually remains “hidden”.
