| Sforza Castle | |
|---|---|
| Milan in Italy | |
 TheTorre del Filarete | |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Municipality of Milan |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Restored byLuca Beltrami(1891–1905) |
| Website | www |
| Location | |
  Sforza Castle Location within Milan | |
| Coordinates | 45°28′12″N9°10′43″E / 45.47000°N 9.17861°E /45.47000; 9.17861 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1360–1499 |
| In use | Until 1862 |
TheSforza Castle (Italian:Castello Sforzesco[kasˈtɛllosforˈtsesko];Milanese:Castell Sforzesch[kasˈtɛlsfurˈsɛsk]) is a medieval fortification located inMilan,northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century byFrancesco Sforza,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 byLuca Beltrami in 1891–1905, it now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.
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The original construction was ordered byGaleazzo II Visconti, a local nobleman, in 1358 –c. 1370;[1] this castle was known as theCastello di Porta Giova (orPorta Zubia), from the name of a gate in walls located nearby.[2] It was built in the same area of the ancient Roman fortification ofCastrum Portae Jovis, which served ascastra pretoria when the city was the capital of theRoman Empire. It was enlarged by Galeazzo's successors,Gian Galeazzo,Giovanni Maria andFilippo Maria Visconti, until it became a square-plan castle with 200 m-long sides, four towers at the corners and up to 7-metre-thick (23 ft) walls.[2] The castle was the main residence in the city of itsVisconti lords, and was destroyed by the short-livedGolden Ambrosian Republic which ousted them in 1447.
In 1450,Francesco Sforza, once he had shattered the republicans, began reconstruction of the castle to turn it into his princely residence.[3] In 1452 he hired the sculptor and architectFilarete to design and decorate the central tower, which is still known as theTorre del Filarete. After Francesco's death, the construction was continued by his sonGaleazzo Maria, under the architect Benedetto Ferrini. The decoration was executed by local painters. In 1476, during the regency ofBona of Savoy, the tower bearing her name was built.
In 1494Ludovico Sforza became lord of Milan, and called on numerous artists to decorate the castle. These includeLeonardo da Vinci (who frescoed several rooms, in collaboration withBernardino Zenale andBernardino Butinone) andBramante, who painted frescoes in theSala del Tesoro;[4] theSala della Balla was decorated with Francesco Sforza's deeds. Around 1498, Leonardo worked on the ceiling of theSala 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 astenaglia, was added, perhaps designed byCesare Cesariano. In 2025, evidence of tunnels sketched by da Vinci were identified below the structure.[5][6]
After the French victory in theBattle of Marignano in 1515, the defeatedMaximilian Sforza, his Swiss mercenaries, as well as thecardinal-bishop of Sion retreated into the castle. However, KingFrancis I of France followed them into Milan, before hissappers 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, theTorre del Filarete exploded. WhenFrancesco 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.
Under the Spanish domination which followed, the castle became acitadel, as the governor's seat was moved to theDucal Palace (1535). Its garrison varied from 1,000 to 3,000 men, led by a Spanishcastellan.[2] In 1550 works began to adapt the castle to modern fortification style, as a hexagonal (originally pentagonal)star fort, following the addition of 12 bastions. The external fortifications reached 3 km in length and covered an area of 25.9hectares.[7] The castle also remained in use as a fort after the Spaniards were replaced by the Austrians in Lombardy.
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Most of the outer fortifications were demolished during the period of Napoleonic rule in Milan under theCisalpine 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 700-by-700-metre (2,300 by 2,300 ft) square parade ground known as Piazza d'Armi.
After theunification of Italy in the 19th century, the castle was transferred from military use to the city of Milan.Parco Sempione, one of the largest parks in the city, was created on the former parade grounds.
The government of Milan undertook restoration works, directed byLuca Beltrami. TheVia Dante was cut through the medieval street layout in the 1880s to provide a direct promenade between the castle andthe Duomo 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 KingUmberto I.
Alliedbombardment of Milan in 1943 duringWorld War II severely damaged the castle. The post-war reconstruction of the building for museum purposes was undertaken by theBBPR architectural partnership.
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 adrawbridge. The northern tower is known as theTorre della Corte, and its counterpart to the west is theTorre delTesoro; both received wide windows during theSforza age.
The corner defended by theTorre Ducale is characterized by aloggia bridge, attributed to Bramante, and commissioned by Ludovico Sforza in the late 15th century to connect theCorte Ducale (the court in the area used as a ducal residence) and theCortile della Ghirlanda. Thisghirlanda refers to a wall, protected by a ditch filled with water, built under Francesco Sforza, of which few traces remain today, including thePorta del Soccorso. Remains of two laterravelins can be seen in correspondence of the point in which the castle was joined by the city walls (near thePorta Comasina gate) and thePorta del Carmine. ThePorta 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 theTorre 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. TheTorre del Filarete and thePorta 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 theRocchetta, a sort of internal defensiveridotto with a gate of its own. At the right of thePorta del Carmine are the remains of two 15th-century courts. TheRocchetta, whose access gate from the main court (a modern addition) features the Sforza coat of arms, has an internal court with, on three sides, aportico with 15th-century arcades. TheCorte Ducale is the wing of the castle originally used as a ducal residence; it features a court with twologgias, a smaller one on the left and a larger one at its end, calledLoggiato dell'Elefante due to the presence of a fresco of an elephant.
The Sforza Castle complex includes the following museums:[8]
In 2012, new paintings attributed toMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio were discovered at the castle.[14][15]
The Biblioteca Trivulziana is a library of the Municipality of Milan located inside the Sforza Castle, annexed to the Civic Historical Archive.[16][17] Its holdings include a manuscript byLeonardo da Vinci, theCodex Trivulzianus.[18]
...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).
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