A brief History of the Castle
It was built
around 1450 when Francesco Sforza,
duke of Milan, decided to rebuild an old tower.
The central tower by Filarete, that you can see in the photo on the left, and two round towers were added later.
In the last years of ‘400, Ludovico il Moro called in Milan Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante: the first painted the “Sala delle Asse”, the second completed the “Cortile della Rocchetta” and “Ponticella”.
When the French first conquered Milan, the Castle was abandoned as residence and became a defensive instrument.
The Spanish built a modern system of bastions in a star shape and decorated the inner rooms with coats fo arms.
During Napoleon’s period the fortifications built by the Spanish were destroyed and the French wanted even to demolish the castle to open a large view from the Arch and Arena till Foro Bonaparte.
At the end of ‘800 the castle was saved thank to the contribution of the Cityhall and architect Luca Beltrami, and became an important cultural centre with its museums and exhibitions.