Braidense National Library — Attraction in Milan

This library has some really frustrating rules. If you don’t have coins with you, you’re not allowed to store your bag in the locker room, and if you don’t leave your bag there, they won’t even let you enter the library. On top of that, they randomly close the library in the middle of the day ( like at 2 PM ) which makes no sense to me.

I honestly don’t understand if this is common across Italy or just specific to this place. Do people see libraries more like tourist attractions here? It feels like the concept of a library as a quiet, accessible study space doesn’t really exist. at least not in the way I’m used to.

If you’re living in a Nordic country like me, the library experience in Italy might feel like a complete...

A hidden treasure inside the Brera Palace, right next to the Pinacoteca di Brera. The Braidense National Library offers a stunning historic reading room with wooden shelves, chandeliers, and a peaceful atmosphere—it feels like stepping into a 19th-century scholarly haven.

While it’s primarily a research library, visitors are welcome to quietly explore the space. Some areas may be limited to students or researchers, but the main reading halls alone are worth the visit—especially if you love books, history, or beautiful interiors.

Free entry, but bring an ID to register if you’d like to read or work inside.

A perfect stop for a quiet moment between museum visits or while exploring the artistic...

Only in Italy you can hear “we are about to close so you can’t enter a ‘5 minutes stay’ cause we gonna close in 30 minutes” unbelievable. They invent stupid rules that of course Italians act silly trying to avoid them, like: you can enter read sit or read through your phone but you can’t walk around the tables to read or see the beautiful and ancient books and shelter! Ok then, let’s go inside to sit but I’m gonna walk around the tables to find my sit okay? Unbelievable. Even the other colleagues in the museum agree with us saying “some people here pretend to stick to the rules so they don’t have to deal with you or to work”...