The Royal Palace of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, January 2016 (photo)

The Royal Palace of Milan (Italian: Palazzo Reale di Milano) was the seat of government in the Italian city of Milan for many centuries. Today, it serves as a cultural center and it is home to international art exhibitions. It spans through an area of 7,000 square meters and it regularly hosts modern and contemporary art works and famous collections in cooperation with notable museums and cultural institutions from across the world. More than 1,500 masterpieces are on display annually. It was originally designed to include two courtyards but these were later dismantled to make room for the Duomo. The Palazzo is located to the right of the Duomo's facade, opposite to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The facade of the Palazzo creates a recess in Piazza del Duomo which functions as a courtyard, known as the Piazzetta Reale (literally, a "Small Royal Square").