Milan has always been a city with momentum, capable of surprising and amazing as it continues to move forwards in the arts and in multiple expressions of culture. The very places where culture grows and evolves are dynamic places, made not only to excite visitors, but also to attract talent and knowledge and to arouse interest and curiosity. Milan’s galleries, numerous and international, are like litmus paper, an indication of just how lively the city is in the area of figurative art.
Here, many exhibitions that cover a range of genres are organised. These venues are not just spaces reserved for expositions, but represent a place of meeting and cultural exchange in the city. Its foundations are institutions at the service of the city, able to function as incubators of ideas, helping them to be born and to be diffused.
The “biblioteche” or libraries represent an invaluable treasure held in the city. In the Bibiloteca Sormani, there are more than 600 thousand volumes, including books belonging to Stendhal, around 20 thousand consultable Italian and foreign newspapers in the newspaper and periodical section and more than 23 thousand discs, CDs, filmstrips and videocassettes in the audiovisual centre.
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is one of the top Italian libraries for its vast collections and the number of manuscripts in its possession. There is a sea of pages of history, religion and literature in which to lose oneself. There are also classic texts and rare scrolls to be found here. The libraries offer not only immediate access to books, periodicals, audio-visual materials and all the instruments of knowledge that new technology puts at our disposal, but they also guarantee spaces for personal growth and socialisation in response to the most varied needs of their visitors. Many of these libraries, in particular the larger ones, offer spaces, often quite ample, for the presentation of books, study days, meetings and conferences.
Institutes such as the Circolo Filologico Milanese offer courses in languages from all the countries in the world and even Milanese history and dialect for those that wish to conserve the local culture and traditions.
Places of knowledge in a city where exchange of ideas and cultural development are fundamental elements.
