When the splendid exhibition spaces of the PAC designed by Ignazio Gardella reopened to the public after being closed for repairs for a long period, there were no public institutions in Italy which addressed the field of contemporary art on a continuous basis. The PAC offered itself to Milan as an agile structure, similar to the European kunsthalle, committed also to the prospect of opening a museum of contemporary art for which it intended to be both witness and place of research. The City of Milan’s art collections, already rich in twentieth century works, grew for years, as a result of the PAC activities , with the acquisition of recent works. These filled many gaps and helped to define the layout and content of the future museum, then open in 1984 at the temporary site of Palazzo Reale. That vast organisation of The Civic Art Collections then became complete with a collection which embraced a time span reaching from the paleochristian era to that of contemporary art. It included the following institutes: the Museo d’Arte Antica and the Pinacoteca of the Sforzesco Castle, the Gabinetto dei Disegni, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, the CIMAC-Civico Museo d’Arte Contemporanea and attached to the latter, the PAC.

[Via comune.milano.it website]