Ambrosian Art Gallery: culture as a space of peace

Interview with Antonello Grimaldi

by Pabla Pastene, Creative Director — Rosato Studio & Agency
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan.

Introduction

In the old heart of Milan, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is more than a museum: it is an idea of culture, a gesture of openness, and an invitation to beauty. Founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo as the first public library in Europe, the Ambrosiana has preserved the spirit of the city for centuries: cultured, creative, spiritual, and curious.

Today, this sacred place of art continues to inspire and move,   for Rosato Studio & Agency, visiting this space represents a moment of connection between art, fashion, and design, but also between history and contemporaneity, between Milan and the world.

Entering the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana means feeling the deep breath of Milan: its silent elegance, its creative energy, and its vocation to transform beauty into a universal language.

The role of the Ambrosiana in the cultural life of Milan

Pabla Pastene:
Can you explain what role the Ambrosiana plays in the cultural and artistic life of Milan?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 It is important because it is the oldest museum in Milan, and it is not just a museum; it is also a library, the first European library open to the public, so it has a centuries-old tradition of openness not only to the city but to the whole world.
Its founder, Cardinal Federico Borromeo, believed that culture should be spread in all places and with all possible means. Thus, he created this library and this art gallery: a true concept of universal openness.

It is also significant because, as Leonardo da Vinci said, the Ambrosiana is the true center of Roman Milan.  Visiting the Hypogeum Church of San Sepolcro, one can walk on the paving of the Roman forum, where the cardo meets the decumano.

Grimaldi’s words reveal a living legacy: the Ambrosiana is not just an archive of knowledge, but a lens through which to observe Milan as an artistic organism in continuous evolution.

Milan, a city in constant dialogue with the present

Pabla Pastene:
Milan is a modern city, in constant transformation and with an international vocation. How does the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana engage with this dynamic and contemporary reality?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 At this moment, the Ambrosiana dialogues with the territory, participating in all Milanese events: Design Week, Fashion Week, Art Week …
 But this is a relationship that builds itself in a natural way.

Pabla Pastene:
 Why do you say it is natural?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 Because there is a continuous exchange, being a point of reference. My motto is —— preserve to enhance, not to conserve.
 Museums should be open cultural places. The museum should especially welcome those who are ignorant of it, as it is a way to approach the world of art and culture. I believe each of us is a genius in our own way.

This vision reflects a principle dear to Rosato as well: culture as an accessible, emotional, and human space.
 Milan confirms, once again, as a city that builds bridges between the past and the future.

The dialogue between art, design, and fashion

Pabla Pastene:
 Contemporary culture also passes through design and fashion, two deeply Milanese languages. What is the relationship of the Ambrosiana with these creative expressions?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 As a cultural hub par excellence, we must ensure that design — and Leonardo da Vinci was a precursor of modern design with all that he designed — is part of this dialogue.
 We have hosted Gaetano Pesce and every year we present something related to the world of design and fashion.
 We just hosted a fashion show by Versace, and we would like more and more for the world of fashion to be a vehicle to bring everyone closer to culture.

Milan is not only the city of design, fashion, or business, but also a first-rate cultural place.

In these words, the souls of Rosato Studio & Agency intertwine perfectly: art, fashion, and communication.
 The Ambrosiana becomes a metaphor for the Milan we love — a city where design meets history and fashion dialogues with art.

Culture as an experience of peace and knowledge

Pabla Pastene:
 What will a visitor find at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana that they will not find anywhere else?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 The Atlantic Codex by Leonardo da Vinci is unique in the world, but I believe that all cultural places should be visited because culture is something wonderful: it satisfies the minds, it is a place of meditation but also of inner dialogue.
 My invitation is: go to museums more and fight less.

Entering a museum means finding culture in the country where one is, but also in many other countries together in peace.
 We have Flemish, Spanish, Italian, French painters,… These places must be places of peace, but also bearers of peace.

Words that resonate with Rosato's mission: to spread beauty as a language of harmony and human connection. Art, like communication, is a gesture of peace.

Communicate to enhance

Pabla Pastene:
 You often speak about the importance of communicating culture. What do you mean exactly?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 When I say preserve to enhance, it is essential to communicate to people what beauty one possesses.
 You can have all the masterpieces in the world, but if you don’t communicate them, it’s like not having them.

Art as freedom and hope

Pabla Pastene:
 You said that those who enter a museum must feel free to be themselves. What does that mean to you?

Antonello Grimaldi:
 It means that in front of a painting, one can feel emotional, another can say "I don’t like it": and that is the beauty of culture, that everyone must experience their own emotions.
 For example, I personally like Brueghel's flower vase

 Bruegel, not because it is my favorite work, but because it expresses life and colors.
 More than the Basket by Caravaggio, which represents the transience of life, a kind of pessimism.
 I believe instead that life and hope always triumph.

Conclusion

At the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, beauty reveals itself in its purest form: as a gesture of freedom, knowledge, and communion between the arts.
 This conversation with Antonello Grimaldi is for Rosato Studio & Agency an inspiring meeting, a confirmation that Milan continues to be the city where culture meets modernity, where art speaks the language of the future.

In this iconic space, Rosato recognizes its own philosophy: to preserve, communicate, and celebrate beauty — because hope, like art, always triumphs.