In the heart of Milan, created thanks to the passion of the noble art collector Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (1822-1879), the Poldi Pezzoli Museum is one of the most important and famous house-museums in the world. It is next to the Scala theatre, in the street once called “corsia del Giardino” (garden). Actually, behind the severe Neoclassical façade of the palace there is still a beautiful garden. The house-museum, beloved by the Milanese and international public, opened in 1881; it fascinates not only for the charm of the rooms, evoking the past (from medieval times to the 18th century up to the Armoury by the contemporary artist Arnaldo Pomodoro), but also for the variety and richness of its collections. Masterpieces of painting, sculptures, carpets, lace and embroidery, arms and armour, jewels, porcelain, glass, furniture, clocks: over 5000 pieces from Antiquity to the 19th century suspended in a magical atmosphere that evokes the one chosen by the great Milanese art collector.