Why go

The Castello Sforzesco is the great red-brick fortress at the end of Via Dante, built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza on the ruins of an earlier Visconti castle. Under his son Ludovico il Moro it became one of the most splendid courts of the Renaissance, where Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante worked. Later it served as a barracks for Spanish, Austrian and French troops, before a restoration around 1900 turned it into the home of the city’s museums.

Its vast courtyards are free and make a pleasant short cut to Parco Sempione, but the museums inside are the real reason to come, above all for Michelangelo’s final, unfinished sculpture.

What to see

  • The Pietà Rondanini. Michelangelo worked on this haunting marble until days before his death in 1564. It is displayed in the former Spanish Hospital.
  • The Museum of Ancient Art and Armoury. Sculpture from late Roman to Renaissance times, the funeral monument of Gaston de Foix and historic weapons.
  • The Pinacoteca. Paintings by Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Correggio, Titian and Canaletto.
  • The Egyptian gallery and musical instruments. Antiquities from the civic collections and one of Europe’s finest instrument collections.
  • The courtyards and towers. The Filarete Tower over the main gate, the Piazza d’Armi and the Rocchetta.

Plan your visit

The courtyards open every day from 7am to 7.30pm and cost nothing. The museums open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm, with the ticket office closing at 4.30pm, and are closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

A single ticket covers every museum in the castle, including the Pietà Rondanini, and costs €10, or €5 at the reduced rate. Entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, when no bookings are taken, and free for visitors up to 25 on the second Tuesday of the month. An audio guide costs €5, and on Saturdays at 11am there is a guided tour in English for €20, including the ticket.

Leonardo’s Sala delle Asse, the room he painted with intertwining mulberry trees, is closed for restoration, so do not plan a visit around it.

Getting there

Cairoli station on Metro line M1 faces the castle, and Lanza (M2) and Cadorna (M1, M2) are each about five minutes away. From the Duomo, it is a 15-minute walk along pedestrianised Via Dante.

Tips

Head straight to the Pietà Rondanini while it is quiet, then work through the other museums. Afterwards, walk through Parco Sempione to the Arco della Pace, or continue to the Last Supper, about 15 minutes away on foot.

Nearby

Parco Sempione, the city’s main park, stretches behind the castle to the Arco della Pace, a triumphal arch begun for Napoleon. On its western side, the Triennale design museum and the Torre Branca, a 108-metre steel tower with a lift to the top, are both within the park, and in summer the lawns fill with picnickers and runners. To the east, the streets of Brera, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, are about ten minutes’ walk away.