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Milan: Sforza Castle Entry Ticket with Digital Audio Guide
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The Castello Sforzesco is widely considered not only one of Europe’s greatest castles but also one of Milan’s principal symbols, telling much about the city’s history. Even in Roman times, the Castello di Porta Giovia (Castrum Portae Jovis) had been built in this part of Milan and was regarded as one of four defensive fortresses. During the medieval period, the complex was enlarged by the Visconti until 1447, when it was destroyed by the Aurea Repubblica Ambrosiana. In 1450, Francesco Sforza, having become Duke of Milan, decided to construct a fortress here that would also serve as a court residence.
Over the centuries, the complex underwent various modifications that altered its original appearance. Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the castle was considered one of Europe’s principal military citadels, whilst in the nineteenth century it was subject to restoration works that transformed it into a home for museums and cultural institutions. The Castello Sforzesco is among the must-see attractions in Milan, as it is capable of recounting almost seven centuries of history of these territories.
The structure has a square plan with towers at each of its four corners, each oriented towards one of the cardinal points. The towers to the east and south face the cathedral and have a cylindrical form, whilst the other two facing the park have a square plan and are known as the “Falconiera” and “Castellana”. Internally, it comprises three courtyards: the Cortile Ducale, the Cortile della Rocchetta and the Piazza D’Armi, whilst externally the complex is still surrounded by the ancient moat which, however, no longer contains water.
Built as a defensive fortress during the Visconti era and transformed into a Renaissance court by the Sforza, the Castello Sforzesco is now an important site housing Milan’s Civic Museums. Its rooms contain significant collections ranging from prehistoric artefacts to musical instruments, from the art gallery to furniture collections. The Civic Museums include: Pietà Rondanini Museum – Michelangelo, Museum of Ancient Art, Museum of Furniture and Wooden Sculptures, Sala delle Asse – Leonardo da Vinci, Art Gallery, Museum of Decorative Arts, Museum of Musical Instruments, Archaeological Museum – Prehistory and Protohistory Section, Archaeological Museum – Egyptian Section.
The Art Gallery was founded during the eighteenth century thanks to the initiative of Milanese citizens who wished to collect here the finest works connected to Milan and its artists. The substantial collection on display is also the result of donations and bequests from citizens. Among the artists represented we find Filippo Lippi, Antonello da Messina, Andrea Mantegna, Canaletto, Correggio and Tiepolo.
The gallery is located on the first floor of the castle and comprises seven rooms allowing visitors to follow a path from Milanese art during the Visconti and Sforza courts, continuing through the years of Ludovico il Moro and then proceeding with works from the Lombard school of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A particular section is devoted to the Trivulzio collection, which includes Andrea Mantegna’s celebrated work “The Madonna in Glory with Saints John the Baptist, Gregory the Great, Benedict and Jerome”.
The Museum of Ancient Art houses a collection of over 2,000 pieces including sculptures and objects from the late antique, medieval and Renaissance periods. The museum extends through rooms elegantly frescoed during the Sforza era, amongst which stands out the Cappella Ducale, built at the behest of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. Considered one of Italy’s most prestigious museums of ancient art, this site allows visitors to admire masterpieces linked to the history of Milan and Lombardy, a section dedicated to arms and several funerary monuments. The most important of these is the celebrated Funerary Monument to Gaston de Foix. Among the rooms in this section is also the Sala delle Asse, whose vault was frescoed by Leonardo da Vinci.
The Sala delle Asse is situated on the ground floor of the corner tower known as the Falconiera, and is perhaps the castle’s most renowned room. Its name derives from the wooden board panelling that was installed in the fifteenth century to make the room less cold and more comfortable.
Even in the time of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, this space was decorated with frescoes featuring heraldic motifs, but it was under Ludovico il Moro that the room gained greater prestige thanks to decorations by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo and his collaborators created here an intricate series of flowering branches that intertwine, with the Sforza coat of arms at the centre.
The Pietà Rondanini is a marble sculpture carved in the mid-sixteenth century by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Believed to be the last work on which Michelangelo laboured before his death, the Pietà is considered an unfinished masterpiece depicting at its centre the body of the dead Christ, conveying extreme suffering. This version of the Pietà reveals the full maturity of Michelangelo’s artistic vision, created when he was already in his eighties.
The Sala del Tesoro was the room chosen by the Sforza to safeguard the family treasure. The room, which today forms part of the Trivulziana Library, still retains decorations created during the time of Ludovico il Moro.
Of considerable artistic merit is a large fresco depicting Argus, a figure from mythology, chosen as a symbolic guardian of the treasure. Dated around 1489, the work is attributed to Bartolomeo Suardi, known as Bramantino.
The Castello Sforzesco Museums are open daily from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:30. The last admission is at 17:00. The site is closed on all Mondays. The museums are also closed on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.
Entry to the courtyards is free and is available daily from 07:00 to 19:30.
It is possible to book your visit online or purchase a ticket directly at the Castle Museums ticket office. Prices are as follows:
To make the most of your visit to the Castello Sforzesco with a guided tour, perhaps combined with other Milan attractions, we recommend booking one of the following tours.
The Castello Sforzesco is easily reached on foot from Piazza Duomo or by public transport.
By underground, you can travel on the red line (M1) and exit at Cairoli or Cadorna FN stations. Alternatively, there is the green line (M2) with stops at Lanza and Cadorna FN.
For tram users, lines 1, 2, 4, 12, 14 and 27 serve the area, whilst bus lines 50, 57, 58, 61 and 94 also provide access.
The Castello Sforzesco was built around 1450 by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, as his court residence. The fortress was erected on the site where a stronghold known as the Castello di Porta Giovia had previously been built, first during Roman times and later in the medieval period. Francesco Sforza I, husband of Bianca Maria Visconti, desired a residence in the city that would rival those of other duchies and European cities. The work was entrusted to military engineers Giovanni da Milano, Jacopo da Cortona and Marcoleone da Nogarolo, assisted by the architect Antonio Averulino, known as Filarete, who gave his name to the tall central entrance tower.
It was, however, towards the end of the fifteenth century under Ludovico il Moro that artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante were engaged to work on the castle, contributing to making the fortress one of the most splendid in Europe. Subsequently, the complex was damaged multiple times by wars and bombardment, and over time lost its role as a residence to become a military citadel. In the early twentieth century, the castle underwent major restoration work under the direction of architect Luca Beltrami with the aim of returning it to its former glory. Following these works, a new chapter opened for the Castello Sforzesco, transforming it into the home of Milan’s Civic Museums.
The Sforza Castle sits in central Milan, roughly 1 km from Piazza Duomo.
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