MUDEC, Museum of Cultures

What MUDEC shows: Milano globale, in the old Ansaldo works

MUDEC’s permanent collection, Milano globale. Il mondo visto da qui (“the world seen from here”), uses objects from the city’s ethnographic collections to show how Milan has been tied to the rest of the world since the early modern age, through trade, empire and colonial violence. It’s on the first floor of a former Ansaldo factory in Zona Tortona, and for now it’s free.

The route was put together with academics, activists, cultural mediators and artists, so the objects come with questions attached: the labels take a critical line on globalisation, trade and the exploitation of land and workers, and they follow the story into the lives of people today.

MUDEC tickets: a free collection, paid exhibitions

The collection’s free entry could change: in March 2026 the city decided on a €5 ticket for it, to start once a ticketing system is ready, and no date has been set, so check MUDEC’s page in the week you go. The exhibitions are paid, apart from the odd free one.

None of the passes we sell covers MUDEC, and while the collection is free you don’t need one; the Milan city passes earn their keep at the paid museums instead.

Around MUDEC’s covered square: Easy MiG and the Matisse show

The museum is built around a large covered square on the first floor, and both the permanent collection and the big exhibitions open off it. Many of the objects in Milano globale have been restored, and some are on loan from other institutions.

If the full labels feel heavy, look for the Easy MiG panels: short texts in plain language, reached by QR code, that you can read or listen to. Families get the Kids+ route, with an audio guide to download.

Matisse. Il mondo in una stanza (“the world in one room”) runs from 8 October 2026 to 21 February 2027 and has its own ticket, for a fixed date or open; we don’t have its price yet.

MUDEC opening hours, and what opens on a Monday

The permanent collection keeps the civic museums’ Monday closing, but the exhibitions open on Monday afternoons, so on a Monday you can only see a paid show. On Thursdays everything stays open until 22:30.

MUDEC’s restaurant, auditorium and the rest of the building

MUDEC opened in 2015 on the site of the old Ansaldo factory, restored to give the city’s ethnographic collections a home, and five years later the permanent route was rebuilt as Milano globale. Upstairs there are an auditorium with 230 seats and the MUDEC Photo and MUDEC Innovation spaces, and on the third floor the restaurant Enrico Bartolini MUDEC, with a bistro as well.

Walking to MUDEC from Porta Genova

MUDEC is at Via Tortona 56, about a kilometre on foot from four metro stops: Porta Genova and Sant’Agostino on the M2, and California and Coni Zugna on the M4. From Porta Genova the museum’s site says the green footbridge is closed, so walk round by Via Ventimiglia.

Buses and trams drop you closer. Bus 68 stops at Bergognone, about 300 metres away, and tram 14 at Piazza del Rosario or Solari-Stendhal, about 450 metres. Buses 90 and 91 stop at Piazzale delle Milizie, also about 450 metres from the door.

Coming by car, there’s a covered car park, open 24 hours, at €4.50 an hour or €60 a day.

Once there, the museum has ramps and lifts, and you can borrow a wheelchair at the ticket desk by leaving an ID. Guide dogs go everywhere; other dogs can stay only on the ground floor.