Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker

For almost half a century this bronze Napoleon had nowhere to stand. It reached Milan in May 1812, cast in Rome to Canova's design, and the bronze is said to come from old cannons at Castel Sant'Angelo. While officials were still arguing over where to put it, Napoleon fell, Lombardy passed to Austria, and the statue went down into the basements of the Brera Academy.

It came back up in 1859. That June, French and Piedmontese troops beat the Austrians at Magenta, and Napoleon's nephew, Emperor Napoleon III, rode into Milan. On 14 August the uncle's statue was set up in the middle of this courtyard, with a speech by the poet Giulio Carcano. The pedestal, designed by the architect Luigi Bisi, followed in 1864.

The small winged Victory on the globe in Napoleon's right hand is a modern copy. The original was stolen in 1978, and this one was put in its place in 1980.