On Thursday 20 November 2025, the Royal Palace in Milan will host an exceptional meeting dedicated to the rediscovery and symbolic reconstruction of the Coronation of Napoleon King of Italy. Organised by the Royal Palace of Milan in collaboration with the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities, this event will bring together museums, researchers and curators around a shared historical heritage, now scattered across Italy and France.
A museum project combining remembrance and reconstruction
Title «A “painting” to recompose. The Coronation of Napoleon King of Italy through clothes and objects».», The aim of the conference is to revisit one of the major episodes in Napoleonic history through the objects, clothing and symbols that witnessed it. The project aims to reconstructing material and symbolic memory the ceremony on 26 May 1805, when Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan cathedral. This initiative, supported by the Palais Royal and the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities, is part of an effort to promote the memory of Napoleon's birthplace. european heritage cooperation, in association with prestigious Italian and French museums.
This meeting is a continuation of the Sorbonne Charter, The first conference of the informal network of museums and battlefields working with the Fédération Européenne des Cités Napoléoniennes-Destination Napoléon was held at the Sorbonne University in June 2024.
European institutions unite around Napoleonic heritage
Moderated by’Alexander Debono, a member of the Federation's Scientific Committee, the symposium will bring together representatives from several partner museums, who will be presenting exceptional pieces related to the coronation: the coat and badges of honour of Napoleon kept at the Brera Picture Gallery, the Small Italian costume from Stibbert Museum in Florence, or the Iron crown from Treasures of the Duomo of Monza. Other presentations will highlight the female presence at the heart of this memory, through the Joséphine's tiara (Musée Masséna, Nice), the Dress by Mrs Mother, Letizia Ramolino (Napoleonic Museum, Rome) or the formal wear from Mansi Palace in Lucca. These contributions testify to the richness and diversity of a shared heritage, now dispersed but deeply rooted in European memory.
A dialogue between history, art and museography
As well as providing a historical overview, the aim of this meeting is to encourage a reflections on contemporary museography and ways of presenting Napoleon's heritage. The reconstruction of the «tableau» of Napoleon's coronation becomes a key element in the exhibition. an exercise in collective memory, The aim is to explore the symbolic value of objects, their circulation and their power to tell the story through collections. This initiative is a perfect illustration of the values espoused by the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, by encouraging dialogue between institutions, the transmission of knowledge and the construction of a shared memory.
Practical information
Fragmented memory: towards a museum reconstruction of the Coronation of Napoleon King of Italy
Date : Thursday 20 November 2025, from 10.00 am to 1.30 pm
Location: : Hall of the Eight Columns - Royal Palace of Milan
In collaboration with the City of Milan, the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities - Destination Napoléon, and a number of partner museums in Italy and France.