Founded in 1796 by Giacomo Carrara, Accademia Carrara in Bergamo is regarded as Italy’s museum of collecting, as its collections are entirely formed through the bequests of enlightened patrons who, over time, sought to enrich its holdings and make them available to the city and the wider community.

The museum houses an extraordinary collection spanning the history of Italian art from the Gothic period to the nineteenth century, featuring masterpieces by Pisanello, Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Raphael, and Botticelli, alongside key works of the Lombard and Venetian traditions by artists such as Lorenzo Lotto, Giovan Battista Moroni, Evaristo Baschenis, and Fra Galgario, as well as the protagonists of the Accademia Carrara School of Painting.

Since 2024, the visitor experience has been further enhanced by the PwC Gardens, a new shared space open to the public free of charge, where art and nature meet, comprising an elegant bistro, a walkway linking the outdoor areas to the museum galleries, and a romantic park.