Touring Milan’s Castello Sforzesco
Castle Filled with City Museums of Art, History, Music and Armor
Oct 6, 2007
Only a short walk from the church of Santa Maria della Grazie, where most visitors to Milan go to see Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper, is Milan’s castle, a one-stop-shop for museums of everything from the prehistoric to Picasso.
A total of six different museums inside include those dedicated to decorative arts, armor and weapons, Medieval and Renaissance sculpture, painting through the 20th century, prehistoric artifacts and musical instruments. Among their treasures – which range from major works by the world’s most important artists to the just plain quirky -- are Michelangelo's last work, high fashion since the 17th century and a violin small enough to fit in a pocket.
The castle itself was built between the 1360s and the 1450s, and the dukes called upon the best of their time to build and embellish it – Bramante (whose architectural genius is shown in Milan’s church of Santa Maria Presso San Satiro) and Da Vinci, who painted the Sala delle Assein 1498.
Apart from some invasive reconstruction at the turn of the 20th century, the castle looks pretty much the same as when it was built. Walls were built around it in the 16th and 17th centuries, but fell to ruin and were removed completely by Napoleon.
- Museo delle Arti Decorative (Decorative Arts) Perhaps the most wide-ranging, its collections crowd galleries off two courtyards with ivory, clocks, ironwork, jewelry, ceramics, wooden sculpture, and Italy's largest collection of furniture. The Trivulzio tapestries are the acknowledged masterpieces of Renaissance textile work. Learn from the costume collections how Milan became the leader in world fashion.
- Museo d'Arte Antica (Medieval and Renaissance Art) Sculpture from the Middle Ages and Renaissance includes Michelangelo's last work, the Pieta Rondanini, which he was working on when he died. Many of the works were saved from churches and monasteries that were being demolished.
- Pinoteca (Painting Gallery) Bellini and Canaletto paintings stand out in the early artists represented, one of Europe's best collections of 20th-century art features Picasso and his contemporaries.
- Museo della Preistoria e Protostoria (Prehistoric) Artifacts – moastly from the Po Valley -- represent early civilizations from Paleolithic, Neolithic and Iron Ages.
- Museo d'Arte Antica Armeria (Weaponry and Armor) See how armour changed to match the technology of weaponry.
- Museo degli Strumenti Musicali (Musical Instruments) From Medieval lutes to hurdy-gurdy hand organs, this museum considers not only the sounds but also the technology and artistry involved in creating them.
- Museo Egizio (Egyptian) Mummies, sarcophagi and the rest of the Egyptian collections of the Archaeological museum.
Not all the collections are hidden away inside: In the loggia of the Corte Ducale are frescoes and in the Cortile della Rocchetta is architectural and ornamental stone carving. So even if the museums are closed, the castle is worth visiting. Stop, too, at the tort de' spus (wedding cake), a stunning round fountain in Piazza Castello as you enter the castle grounds.
Admission to the museums is only 3 Euros; the castle itself is free.
