The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in
Milan, capital of the Napoleonic
Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the
cloisters of the
Baroque church of
Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially eighteen boarders, including students of both sexes. Today it is the largest institute of musical education in Italy.
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Verdi, after whom the conservatory is named, in 1832 applied unsuccessfully to study there. ==Alumni and faculty==