Castel Sforza is a castle in Milan, built in the 15th century by Duke Francesco Sforza on the ruins of a 14th-century fort. Later renewed and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries the castle was one of the largest citadels in Europe. Between 1891 and 1905 it was extensively rebuilt by Luca Beltrami and today houses several of the city's museums.
The first castle on this site was built at the end of the 14th century and was known as Castello di Porta Giova (or Porta Zubia). The Visconti rulers subsequently enlarged the castle several times until it became a rectangular structure with four towers at the corners and seven-metre thick walls. In those years the fortification served as the main residence of the Visconti, but it was destroyed in 1447 during the short reign of the Golden Ambrosian Republic.
In 1450 Francesco Sforza began to reconstruct the castle to make it his residence. He hired the sculptor and architect Filarete to design the central tower - to this day the tower bears his name, Torre del Filarete. Local artists worked on the decorations. In 1476, during the reign of Duchess Bona of Savoy, another tower was built and named after her.
At the end of the 15th century, Ludovico Sforza, who became Duke of Milan, summoned numerous artists to decorate the castle - among them were Leonardo da Vinci, who painted several rooms with frescoes, Bernardino Zenale, Bernardino Butinone, Bramante, who worked in the rooms of the Sala del Tesoro and the Sala della Balla. However, Castello Sforzesco was attacked several times by Italian, French and German troops, which could not but affect its appearance. In 1521, when the castle was used as an armoury, the Torre del Filarete was blown up, and only later, with the accession of Francesco II Sforza to Milan, was the whole castle restored. In 1550, work began to give the Castello its present hexagonal star shape. At the same time 12 bastions were added to it. The outer fortifications reached 3 kilometres in length and occupied an area of almost 26 hectares.
Most of the outer fortifications were destroyed during Napoleon's reign during the Cisalpine Republic, and around the castle, on the side that faced the city, built a semicircular square Piazza Castello. On the opposite side was the Piazza d'Armi. After the unification of Italy, Castello Sforzesco lost its military status and was handed over to the city, and one of the largest parks in Milan, Parco Sempione, was built on its territory. Another reconstruction of the castle was undertaken in the 20th century, as the structure was badly damaged during the bombing of Milan during World War II.
Today Sforza Castle houses several of the city's museums - the Pinacoteca with works by Andrea Mantegna, Canaletto, Tiepolo, Vincenzo Foppa, Tiziano Vecellino and Tintoretto; the Museum of Ancient Art with sculptures by Michelangelo; the Museum of Musical Instruments; the Egyptian Museum; the prehistoric collection of the Archaeological Museum of Milan; the collection of applied arts; the collection of prints by Achille Bertarelli and the Museum of Ancient Furniture and Wooden Sculpture.
