Formerly the seat, during the Napoleonic era, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later the Ministry of War, the Palazzo Moriggia, which passed in 1900 to the De Marchi family, was donated to the Municipality of Milan by the wife of the celebrated naturalist Marco De Marchi and on that occasion designated as a museum headquarters.
Through an elaborate collection of materials composed of prints, paintings, sculptures, drawings, weapons, and memorabilia, the collections illustrate the period of Italian history from the first campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy (1796) to the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy (1870).
The exhibition path is arranged chronologically and unfolds through fifteen thematic rooms, in addition to two rooms designated for temporary exhibitions. The latest installation dates back to 1998 when, while maintaining the chronological sequence, the permanent exhibition structures were redesigned, dedicated to the key nuclei of the collections, especially the memorabilia of Napoleon’s coronation in Italy (the green and silver mantle and the precious royal insignia), the banner of the Lombard Legion Mounted Hunters, the first Italian Tricolor, to name just a few examples.
On this occasion, the lighting system and the didactic framework were redesigned, and the behind romantic “Little Garden” was restored. Via Borgonuovo, 23, tel 02.88464186
