Pirelli HangarBicocca

About the museum

The building is linked to Breda, founded in 1886 by Ernesto Breda, which from 1903 moved the company to the Bicocca district, where Pirelli, Falck and Marelli also settled. The Shed, with exposed brick and double-pitched roofs, already existed in the early 1920s and produced components for locomotives and agricultural machinery. In 1955 the Cubo was added, and between 1963 and 1965 the Navate, intended for transformers.

In the early 1980s Breda passed to the Ansaldo Group, and the industrial areas were progressively decommissioned as part of the Progetto Bicocca, launched in 1986. After about a decade of abandonment, the plant (former Ansaldo 17) was bought by Prelios, formerly Pirelli RE, which in 2004 decided to transform it into an exhibition space for contemporary art.

Today Pirelli HangarBicocca is a non-profit foundation. The Navate, of about 9,500 square metres and thirty metres high, have housed Anselm Kiefer’s “I Sette Palazzi Celesti” since 2004. In the garden, since 2010, stands Fausto Melotti’s “La Sequenza”, and another permanent work is “Waves Only Exist Because the Wind Blows” (2024) by eL Seed.

Highlights

• Permanent installation “I Sette Palazzi Celesti” by Anselm Kiefer
• “La Sequenza” by Fausto Melotti in the garden
• Industrial naves of about 9,500 square metres
• Free admission
• Permanent work by eL Seed (2024)

Permanent exhibitions

• I Sette Palazzi Celesti (Anselm Kiefer) – Permanent installation of seven monumental towers, housed since 2004 in one of the naves.
• La Sequenza (Fausto Melotti) – Permanent sculpture in the garden of the complex, present since 2010.

Founded

2004

Operated by

Fondazione Pirelli HangarBicocca

Visitors per year

approx. 165,703

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the exhibition space is free. Free online booking is recommended, as it gives priority for the chosen time slot. You can also enter without booking, depending on availability and with possible waiting times; members (Member) enter without booking.

Accessibility

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

The spaces are on a single level with no architectural barriers. Wheelchairs and folding chairs are requested at the Info Point in the foyer, and wheelchair users have a priority queue. Mediation and guided tours in LIS are available on request, as are audio-video guides in LIS for Kiefer’s installation, guides in easy-to-read language and in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), noise-cancelling headphones and portable seats. Only assistance dogs are admitted in the exhibition spaces.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

The museum offers creative routes for families and young people, summer camps and winter workshops, as well as programmes for schools and teachers. Children under 10 must be held by the hand; pushchairs and wheelchairs are admitted, except where restricted by the artworks. A baby-changing station is available.

Getting there & parking

BikeMi bike sharing is available at Ponale (M5).

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Iuta Bistrot and bookshop; free Wi-Fi in the spaces. In the foyer there is an area with lockers and, on rainy days, bags for umbrellas.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Private visits on closing days and hire of the spaces should be requested at eventrental@hangarbicocca.org.

Plan your visit