Castello Sforzesco and the Rondanini Pietà
Michelangelo's last work
The Castello Sforzesco is the great fortress of the dukes of Milan. Built by the Visconti in the fourteenth century and rebuilt from 1450 by Francesco Sforza, it became one of the most splendid Renaissance courts under Ludovico il Moro, who called Leonardo da Vinci and Bramante here. The central Filarete tower, rebuilt in the early twentieth century, overlooks the city, while behind the castle stretches the Parco Sempione, Milan's largest park.
Today the castle houses the Civic Museums: ancient art, furniture, musical instruments, Egyptian and prehistoric collections, and the Sala delle Asse, decorated by Leonardo with a pergola of intertwined trees. The highlight is the Rondanini Pietà, the last sculpture by Michelangelo, on which he was still working a few days before his death in 1564, at nearly 89. Unfinished, with the figures of Christ and Mary almost fused together, it is one of the most moving works of art in the world, displayed in its own museum in the former Spanish hospital.
Tip: the courtyards and park are free; on the first and third Tuesday afternoon of the month and the first Sunday, museum entry is free.
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