Chiostro del Bramante

About the museum

The cloister was commissioned around 1500 by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa from Donato Bramante, who had moved from Milan to Rome, where he became chief architect to Julius II. The attribution is supported by a dedicatory inscription running around the whole perimeter and by coats of arms with cardinal’s hats on the pillars of both levels.

The cloister has a square plan and is laid out on two storeys: on the ground floor a portico with four arches per side, Ionic pilasters and vaults; on the upper floor a loggia of composite order, with pilasters and Corinthian columns alternating and supporting a flat architrave. Bramante dispensed with superfluous decoration and concentrated on structural elements, marking a break with his works in Milan. The walls of the portico display late 15th-century funerary monuments, and almost all the lunettes retain frescoes with scenes from the life of Mary.

The cloister is part of the complex of the church of Santa Maria della Pace, where Raphael’s Sibyls are preserved. Once the ground floor housed the monks’ communal rooms and the upper floor their cells; today both levels host cultural activities. The site is managed by DART srl.

Highlights

• Two-storey Renaissance cloister by Bramante, commissioned by Cardinal Carafa
• Lunettes with frescoes of the life of Mary in the portico
• Permanent collection with works by Ian Davenport, Alfredo Jaar, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Fallen Fruit
• Next to the church of Santa Maria della Pace with Raphael’s Sibyls
• Café-bistro and bookshop on site

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente – Works by artists such as Ian Davenport, Alfredo Jaar, Michelangelo Pistoletto and the collective Fallen Fruit, including interventions in the Sala delle Sibille; the collection grows through acquisitions, donations and loans.

Operated by

DART srl

Admission & discounts

Prices shown are for the current exhibition, whose ticket also gives access to the Chiostro collections. Tickets are available at the ticket office or on 2tickets.it; telephone bookings are not possible, and tickets cannot be cancelled or changed. Accredited journalists with a national Order card and teachers accompanying a class (with booking) enter free of charge.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The recommended entrance for wheelchair users is at Via Arco della Pace 5, where there is a mobile ramp. A lift serves the first floor (door 80 cm, cabin 100 × 135 cm). The route is suitable only for manual wheelchairs, not electric ones; a courtesy wheelchair is available on request. Some works are not fully accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly: not available

Every Sunday from 1 November 2026 to 21 March 2027 at 10:30, Family Sundays (domeniche in famiglia) take place: around 60 minutes in Italian and English, followed by a self-guided visit. Children aged 4 to 10 pay €15, adult companions €19. Workshops and creative camps for children aged 4 to 11 are also held during the holidays. Pushchairs are not allowed along the exhibition route but are permitted in the café area.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café-bistro inside the cloister, with tables bookable online, and a bookshop with catalogues, design objects and art-related items.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit