# Sforza Castle
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{{Short description|Castle in Milan, Italy}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Sforza Castle
| native_name = {{native name|it|Castello Sforzesco}}
{{native name|lmo|Castell Sforzesch}}
| location = Milan
| country = Italy
| image = 20110725 Castello Sforzesco Milan 5557.jpg
| caption = The {{lang|it|Torre del Filarete}}
| pushpin_map = Italy Milan Central
| pushpin_label = Sforza Castle
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Milan
| coordinates = {{Coord|45|28|12|N|9|10|43|E|region:IT_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| type =
| code =
| site_area =
| height =
| ownership = Municipality of Milan
| operator =
| controlled_by =
| open_to_public = Yes
| condition = Restored by [Luca Beltrami](/source/Luca_Beltrami) {{nobr|(1891–1905)}}
| built = 1360–1499
| builder =
| used = Until 1862
| battles =
| events =
| past_commanders =
| garrison =
| occupants =
| website = {{URL|https://www.milanocastello.it/en}}
}}
The '''Sforza Castle''' ({{langx|it|Castello Sforzesco}} {{IPA|it|kasˈtɛllo sforˈtsesko|}}; {{langx|lmo|label=[Milanes](/source/Milanes)e|Castell Sforzesch}} {{IPA|lmo|kasˈtɛl sfurˈsɛsk|}}) is a medieval fortification located in [Milan](/source/Milan), [northern Italy](/source/northern_Italy). It was built in the 15th century by [Francesco Sforza](/source/Francesco_Sforza), [Duke of Milan](/source/Duke_of_Milan), on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the largest citadels in Europe. Extensively rebuilt by [Luca Beltrami](/source/Luca_Beltrami) in 1891–1905, it now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.
[[File:Filarete Tower (Torre del Filarete) from Northeast, Milan.jpg|thumb|''Torre del [Filarete](/source/Filarete)'' from interior of Sforza Castle|285x285px]]
==History==
The original construction was ordered by [Galeazzo II Visconti](/source/Galeazzo_II_Visconti), a local nobleman, in 1358 – {{circa}} 1370;[{{Cite news|url=https://www.milanopocket.it/castello-sforzesco/|title= Il Castello Sforzesco di Milano |work= MilanoPocket.it }}] this castle was known as the ''Castello di Porta Giova'' (or ''Porta Zubia''), from the name of a gate in walls located nearby.[{{cite book|title=Guida Milano|publisher=Touring Club Italiano|year=1985|page=436}}] It was built in the same area of the ancient Roman fortification of ''Castrum Portae Jovis'', which served as ''[castra pretoria](/source/Pretorian)'' when the city was the capital of the [Roman Empire](/source/Roman_Empire). It was enlarged by Galeazzo's successors, [Gian Galeazzo](/source/Gian_Galeazzo_Visconti), [Giovanni Maria](/source/Giovanni_Maria_Visconti) and [Filippo Maria Visconti](/source/Filippo_Maria_Visconti), until it became a square-plan castle with 200 m-long sides, four towers at the corners and up to {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=mid|-thick}} walls.[Scotti, Aurora. “The Sforza Castle of Milan (1450-1499).” In ''Medieval Mediterranean'', 104:134–62, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004315501_007.] In 1452 he hired the sculptor and architect [Filarete](/source/Filarete) to design and decorate the central tower, which is still known as the ''Torre del Filarete''. After Francesco's death, the construction was continued by his son [Galeazzo Maria](/source/Galeazzo_Maria_Sforza), under the architect Benedetto Ferrini. The decoration was executed by local painters. In 1476, during the regency of [Bona of Savoy](/source/Bona_of_Savoy), the tower bearing her name was built.
In 1494 [Ludovico Sforza](/source/Ludovico_Sforza) became lord of Milan, and called on numerous artists to decorate the castle. These include [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci) (who frescoed several rooms, in collaboration with [Bernardino Zenale](/source/Bernardino_Zenale) and [Bernardino Butinone](/source/Bernardino_Butinone)) and [Bramante](/source/Bramante), who painted frescoes in the ''Sala del Tesoro'';[{{cite web| url= https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/1A050-00070/ | website= lombardiabeniculturali.it| title= Castello Sforzesco - complesso |language= it | publisher= | access-date= 2025-02-14}}] the ''Sala della Balla'' was decorated with Francesco Sforza's deeds. Around 1498, Leonardo worked on the ceiling of the ''[Sala delle Asse](/source/Sala_delle_Asse)'', painting decorations of vegetable motifs. In the following years, however, the castle was damaged by assaults from Italian, French and German troops; a bastion, known as ''[tenaglia](/source/%3Awiktionary%3Atenaglia)'', was added, perhaps designed by [Cesare Cesariano](/source/Cesare_Cesariano). In 2025, evidence of tunnels sketched by da Vinci were identified below the structure.[{{cite journal| last=Killgrove| first= Kristina| url= https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/mysterious-tunnels-sketched-by-leonardo-da-vinci-in-1495-may-finally-have-been-discovered-hidden-under-a-castle-in-milan |title= Mysterious tunnels sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495 may finally have been discovered — hidden under a castle in Milan| work= [Live Science](/source/Live_Science)| date= February 10, 2025 | access-date= }}][{{cite news| url= https://m.independent.ie/world-news/europe/secret-underground-tunnels-depicted-in-leonardo-da-vincis-drawings-discovered-beneath-italian-castle/a1214664060.html| website= [Irish Independent](/source/Irish_Independent)| publisher= Independent News & Media | via= independent.ie| title= Secret underground tunnels depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings discovered beneath Italian castle| first= Vishwam |last= Sankaran | date= 17 January 2025 | url-access= registration| access-date= 14 February 2025}}]
thumb|left|160px|The castle in the 16th century
After the French victory in the [Battle of Marignano](/source/Battle_of_Marignano) in 1515, the defeated [Maximilian Sforza](/source/Maximilian_Sforza), his Swiss mercenaries, as well as the [cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholicism))-[bishop of Sion](/source/bishop_of_Sion) retreated into the castle. However, King [Francis I of France](/source/Francis_I_of_France) followed them into Milan, before his [sapper](/source/sapper)s placed mines under the castle's foundations, whereupon the defenders capitulated. In 1521, in a period in which it was used as a weapons depot, the ''Torre del Filarete'' exploded. When [Francesco II Sforza](/source/Francesco_II_Sforza) returned briefly to power in Milan, he had the fortress restored and enlarged, in addition to a part of it adapted as a residence for his wife, [Christina of Denmark](/source/Christina_of_Denmark).
[[File:Milano - Castello sforzesco - Stemma Galeazzo Maria Dux Mediolani quintus - Foto G. Dall'Orto - 6-jan-2007.jpg|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of [Galeazzo Maria Sforza](/source/Galeazzo_Maria_Sforza), painted on an interior ceiling]]
Under the Spanish domination which followed, the castle became a [citadel](/source/citadel), as the governor's seat was moved to the [Ducal Palace](/source/Royal_Palace_of_Milan) (1535). Its garrison varied from 1,000 to 3,000 men, led by a Spanish [castellan](/source/castellan).[{{cite book|title=Guida Milano|publisher=Touring Club Italiano|year=1985|pages= 438–439}}] The castle also remained in use as a fort after the Spaniards were replaced by the Austrians in Lombardy.
[[File:Journal de Jean–Claude Locquin - Archives Nationales - 607AP-99, d.3 - (1).jpg|thumb|upright|Journal of Jean-Claude Locquin describing the trenches made around the castle during Napoleonic rule. [Archives nationales de France](/source/Archives_nationales_de_France).]]
Most of the outer fortifications were demolished during the period of Napoleonic rule in Milan under the [Cisalpine Republic](/source/Cisalpine_Republic). The semi-circular Piazza Castello was constructed around the city side of the castle, surrounded by a radial street layout of new urban blocks bounded by the Foro Buonaparte. The area on the "country" side of the castle was laid out as a {{convert|700|by|700|m|adj=on}} square parade ground known as Piazza d'Armi.
After the [unification of Italy](/source/unification_of_Italy) in the 19th century, the castle was transferred from military use to the city of Milan. [Parco Sempione](/source/Parco_Sempione), one of the largest parks in the city, was created on the former parade grounds.
thumb | right | The Castle in 1860|190x190px
The government of Milan undertook restoration works, directed by [Luca Beltrami](/source/Luca_Beltrami). The [Via Dante](/source/Via_Dante) was cut through the medieval street layout in the 1880s to provide a direct promenade between the castle and [the Duomo](/source/Milan_Cathedral) on an axis with the main gate. Between 1900 and 1905 the Torre del Filarete was rebuilt, based on 16th-century drawings, as a monument to King [Umberto I](/source/Umberto_I).
Allied [bombardment](/source/Bombing_of_Milan_in_World_War_II) of Milan in 1943 during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) severely damaged the castle. The post-war reconstruction of the building for museum purposes was undertaken by the [BBPR](/source/BBPR) architectural partnership.
==Description==
The castle has a quadrangular plan, on a site across the city's walls. The wall which once faced the countryside north of Milan has square towers and an ogival gate. This was once accessed through a [drawbridge](/source/drawbridge). The northern tower is known as the ''Torre della Corte'', and its counterpart to the west is the ''Torre del [Tesoro](/source/%3Awiktionary%3Atesoro)''; both received wide windows during the [Sforza](/source/House_of_Sforza) age.
thumb|''Corte Ducale'', 2025
thumb|''Torrione di Santo Spirito'' and adjacent walls
thumb|Main gate
The corner defended by the ''Torre Ducale'' is characterized by a [loggia](/source/loggia) bridge, attributed to Bramante, and commissioned by Ludovico Sforza in the late 15th century to connect the ''Corte Ducale'' (the court in the area used as a ducal residence) and the ''Cortile della Ghirlanda''. This ''[ghirlanda](/source/%3Awiktionary%3Aghirlanda)'' refers to a wall, protected by a ditch filled with water, built under Francesco Sforza, of which few traces remain today, including the ''Porta del Soccorso''. Remains of two later [ravelin](/source/ravelin)s can be seen in correspondence of the point in which the castle was joined by the city walls (near the ''Porta Comasina'' gate) and the ''Porta del Carmine''. The ''Porta della Ghirlanda'' gate was entered through a ravelin (now lost) and had two entrances accessed through runways, which led to an underground passage which continued along the walls.
The external side which once faced the walled city has two round towers, commissioned by Francesco Sforza to replace the former square ones, which had become less suitable to defend against fire weapons. The central tower, called the ''Torre del Filarete'', is a modern reconstruction. The round towers lost their upper parts under the Austrians, who needed open space for their artillery; the towers' present-day upper sections are modern reconstructions. The ''Torre del Filarete'' and the ''Porta del Santo Spirito'', located further to the south, are both preceded by a ravelin.
The main gate leads to a large court from which several internal features can be seen. These include the Tower of Bona of Savoy (1476) and the ''Rocchetta'', a sort of internal defensive [ridotto](/source/ridotto) with a gate of its own. At the right of the ''Porta del Carmine'' are the remains of two 15th-century courts. The ''Rocchetta'', whose access gate from the main court (a modern addition) features the Sforza coat of arms, has an internal court with, on three sides, a [portico](/source/portico) with 15th-century arcades. The ''Corte Ducale'' is the wing of the castle originally used as a ducal residence; it features a court with two [loggia](/source/loggia)s, a smaller one on the left and a larger one at its end, called ''Loggiato dell'Elefante'' due to the presence of a fresco of an elephant.
==Civic museums==
thumb|upright|One of the four castle entrances
The Sforza Castle complex includes the following museums:[{{cite web |url= http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/visitaVirtuale.html|title= A Virtual Tour |publisher= Castello Sforzesco | website= milanocastello.it |access-date=2025-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221081801/http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/visitaVirtuale.html |archive-date=2011-12-21}}]
* The [Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco](/source/Pinacoteca_del_Castello_Sforzesco)[{{cite web |url=http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/visitaMobili.html |title= Collections of Antique Furnishings and Art Collections on the First Floor of the Ducal Courtyard|publisher= Castello Sforzesco | website= milanocastello.it |access-date=2025-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113043140/http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/visitaMobili.html |language= en| archive-date=2013-01-13 }}] with an art collection which includes [Andrea Mantegna](/source/Andrea_Mantegna)'s ''[Trivulzio Madonna](/source/Trivulzio_Madonna)'' and masterpieces by [Canaletto](/source/Canaletto), [Tiepolo](/source/Giovanni_Battista_Tiepolo), [Vincenzo Foppa](/source/Vincenzo_Foppa), [Titian](/source/Titian) and [Tintoretto](/source/Tintoretto)
* [The Museum of Ancient Art](/source/The_Museum_of_Ancient_Art) which includes the armoury, the tapestry room and some funerary monuments
* The [Museum of Musical Instruments](/source/Museum_of_Musical_Instruments_(Milan))
* The [Egyptian Museum](/source/Egyptian_Museum_(Milan))
* The Prehistoric collections of the [Archaeological Museum of Milan](/source/Archaeological_Museum_(Milan))
* [Applied Arts Collection](/source/Applied_Arts_Collection)
* The [Antique Furniture & Wooden Sculpture Museum](/source/Antique_Furniture_%26_Wooden_Sculpture_Museum)
* [The Achille Bertarelli Print Collection](/source/Achille_Bertarelli).[{{Cite web |title=Associazione Amici della Raccolta Bertarelli |url=https://www.bertarelli.org/ita/index.html |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=www.bertarelli.org}}] In the same building that formerly housed [Scuola Superiore d'Arte Applicata all'Industria](/source/School_of_Applied_Arts_of_Castello_Sforzesco).[{{Cite book |last=Beltrami |first=Luca |author-link=Luca Beltrami |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardodavincie00belt/page/n8/mode/1up |title=Leonardo da Vinci e la sala delle "Asse" nel Castello di Milano |date=24 April 1902 |pages=7 |quote=...who undertook the arduous task of restoring the decoration, for which work Professor Luigi Cavenaghi, Director of the School of Applied Art, which is located in the Castle, provided generous advice (Translated from Italian).}}][{{Cite web |title=LEONARDO DA VINCI |url=https://www.leonardodavinci-italy.com/it/sala-delle-assi |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Leonardo da Vinci - vita e opere del grande uomo del rinascimento italiano |language=it}}]
* The Museum of the Rondanini Pietà, which includes [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo)'s last sculpture (the ''[Rondanini Pietà](/source/Rondanini_Piet%C3%A0)'')[{{Cite web|url=https://www.turismo.milano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/musei/pitturaescultura/Museo_della_Pieta|title=The Pietà Rondanini Museum, dedicated to the sculpture|website= turismo.milano.it | publisher= Milan Tourism |language=en|access-date=2018-03-06}}]
In 2012, new paintings attributed to [Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio](/source/Michelangelo_Merisi_da_Caravaggio) were discovered at the castle.[{{Cite news|url=http://www3.lastampa.it/arte/sezioni/news/articolo/lstp/461385/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218231919/http://www3.lastampa.it/arte/sezioni/news/articolo/lstp/461385/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 18, 2013|title=Caravaggio: scoperti a Milano cento disegni giovanili|work=LaStampa.it|access-date=2018-03-06|language=it-IT}}][{{Cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli-e-cultura/2012/07/05/foto/ritrovati_100_disegni_di_caravaggio-38584429/1/|title=Ritrovati 100 disegni di Caravaggio |work=La Repubblica|access-date=2018-03-06}}]
==Biblioteca Trivulziana==
thumb|Milano - Biblioteca Trivulziana|100px
The Biblioteca Trivulziana is a library of the Municipality of Milan located inside the Sforza Castle, annexed to the Civic Historical Archive.[Istituto culturale del comune di Milano (Milan, Italy), and Biblioteca trivulziana. n.d. “Archivio Storico Civico E Biblioteca Trivulziana : Attività Dell’istituto.”][{{Cite web |url=https://trivulziana.milanocastello.it/ |title=Biblioteca Trivulziana |access-date=2024-12-22 |archive-date=2024-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520210136/https://trivulziana.milanocastello.it/ |url-status=dead }}] The Biblioteca Trivulziana has a collection of around 180,000 books, including 1,300 manuscripts and 1,300 [incunabula](/source/Incunable). Notable items in the collection include an illuminated codex of [Dante](/source/Dante_Alighieri)'s ''[Divine Comedy](/source/Divine_Comedy)'' from 1337 and a rare 14th-century text of ''[De vulgari eloquentia](/source/De_vulgari_eloquentia)''. The library's most famous possession is the ''[Codex Trivulzianus](/source/Codex_Trivulzianus)'', a notebook filled with [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci)'s writings, sketches and studies.[Trivulziana Biblioteca trivulziana, and Charles Sotheran. 1888. ''Incunabulic Treasures and Medieval Nuggets from the Trivulzio Library of Milan, Italy Including Vellum Manuscripts of the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries'', Illuminated ... Part the Second, to Which Are Added from Other Collections Mss. ... Early Printed Books ... Etc. .. New York: G.A. Leavitt & Co.] The Civic Historical Archive possesses an extensive civic documentation for the city of Milan and the [Duchy](/source/Duchy_of_Milan) dating from 1385 onwards.
==Burials ==
*[Bona of Savoy](/source/Bona_of_Savoy)
==See also==
{{portal|Architecture|Italy}}
*[House of Sforza](/source/House_of_Sforza)
*[Sala delle Asse](/source/Sala_delle_Asse)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* Costa, Patrizia. “The Sala Delle Asse in the Sforza Castle in Milan.” ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2006.
* {{cite book
|editor1 = Michela Palazzo
|editor2 = Francesca Tasso
|date = 2017
|title = The Sala delle Asse of the Sforza Castle. Leonardo da Vinci. Diagnostic Testing and Restoration of the Monochrome
|publisher = Silvana
|location = Cinisello Balsamo
|isbn = 978-88-366-3677-8
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Padovan
|first = Gianluca
|date = 2019
|title = Castrum Portae Jovis Mediolani: il Castello Visconteo-Sforzesco di Milano dai disegni di Leonardo da Vinci all’archeologica del sottosuolo
|publisher = BAR Publishing
|location = Oxford
|doi = 10.30861/9781407356129
}}
* Proietti, N, D Capitani, V Di Tullio, R Olmi, S Priori, C Riminesi, A Sansonetti, et al. “MOdihMA at Sforza Castle in Milano: Innovative Techniques for Moisture Detection in Historical Masonry.” In ''Built Heritage: Monitoring Conservation Management'', 187–97. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08533-3_16.
== External links ==
{{commons category|Castello Sforzesco (Milan)}}
* {{Official website|https://www.milanocastello.it/en}}
* [http://www.360travelguide.com/360VirtualTour.asp?iCode=mln15 Panoramic virtual tour outside the castle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224175825/http://www.360travelguide.com/360VirtualTour.asp?iCode=mln15 |date=2012-02-24 }}
* [http://www.saladelleassecastello.it/?lang=en Restoration of Sala delle Asse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106090530/http://www.saladelleassecastello.it/?lang=en |date=2022-11-06 }}
{{Milan landmarks|Educational Travel Agency=www.passione-italiana.co.uk}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Castello Sforzesco
Category:Archaeological museums in Italy
Category:Art museums and galleries in Lombardy
Category:Buildings and structures in Milan
Category:Castles in Lombardy
Category:Culture in Milan
Category:Decorative arts museums in Italy
Category:Egyptological collections in Italy
*
Category:Museums in Milan
Category:Music museums in Italy
Category:Brick buildings and structures in Italy
Category:Renaissance architecture in Milan
Category:Libraries in Italy
Category:Libraries in Milan
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sforza Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sforza_Castle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sforza_Castle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.