His father was a wealthy landowner, and had recently come into possession of a large fortune and the title of earl left to him by his uncle (which included the famous Milanese palace which later became the museum Museo Poldi Pezzoli).

From 1849 he undertook to gather an important collection which includes paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Piero della Francesca, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Francesco Guardi, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini and Bernardo Daddi, as well as many valuable items of furniture, weapons, bronzes, pottery, goldsmith's works, and carpets.

[1] His opposition to the Austrian rule forced him, after the Italian defeat in August 1848, to go in exile in Lugano.Silvia Davoli, Lavinia Galli, Alessandra Squizzato, [2] His name appeared in the list of citizens upon whom Marshal Josef Radetzky imposed a heavy fine.

A pioneer of the romantic museum design: a collection not only made up of paintings and statues, but with precious furniture and decorative art, also chosen to evoke an artificial atmosphere of home.

From 1853 to 1879, Bertini designed every room of the house in an historicist style, assisted by painter Luigi Scrosati, bronze worker Giuseppe Speluzzi and sculptor Lorenzo Vela.

From the fifties, the house Poldi became a construction site where the Milanese contemporary decorative arts promoted a model of Italian excellence in Europe, distinguished by a careful study based on observation of the techniques of the past, whose works progressively enriched the apartment.

Giacomo Poldi put all his civic passion also in the establishment of a museum dedicated to ancient Italian art in which stood out paintings of the Tuscan school, Umbria, Veneto, Emilia, Manifesto of a national cultural unity which anticipated the creation of the country.

The collection, was put together steadily from 1850 until 1879, composed by pieces of exceptional quality from the most famous masters of the Renaissance, such as Botticelli, Mantegna, Cosimo Tura, Carlo Crivelli, Giovanni Bellini, Piero del Pollaiuolo.

Director of the Academy of Brera, antique dealer and broker, restorer of European fame, through which Poldi Pezzoli came into contact with the academic environment of collectors and connoisseurs.

This relationship was very fruitful and Poldi Pezzoli entered the circle of European connoisseurs meeting important people, such as Otto Mündler[4] and Charles Lock Eastlake,[5] respectively emissary for purchases and director of the National Gallery of London.

In their periodic trips to Milan they never missed a chance to visit the collection of the nobleman, with whom they completed the purchase of primitive and Italian Renaissance painters, as it is written in their respective notebooks and diaries For the works of applied art Giacomo Poldi could count on Bertini's suggestions and deliveries from the Milanese antique dealers, most notably Giuseppe Baslini.

On the sentimental front Poldi Pezzoli, often attracted by dancers or actresses, was unable to establish a stable relationship, he ended up falling madly in love with Giuseppina Parravicini, who had recently married Cavezzali Francis (1797-1877).

( "a decoration of my native city and in memory of my affection for it")[7] Fabio's death in 1868 forced Giacomo Poldi, still unmarried, to locate a new destination for its heritage and for the collection.

[8] The direction was entrusted to his friend Bertini, who in the meantime had become director of the Accademia di Brera; the museum was equipped with an annuity intended to cover the operating costs and purchases of ancient and modern works.

The expertise gained from Poldi Pezzoli in collecting art was ratified by his appointment as commissioner officer of four sections: weapons, glass, ivory and bronze.