A Renaissance square created by Ludovico il Moro
In the Lomellina, the rice-growing plain west of Pavia, Vigevano was the birthplace and favourite residence of Ludovico Sforza, known as il Moro, Duke of Milan, who transformed it at the end of the fifteenth century with the help of Bramante and perhaps of Leonardo da Vinci.
The result is Piazza Ducale, built in 1492 to 1494 as the grand forecourt of the castle, one of the most beautiful Renaissance squares in Italy: a long rectangle surrounded on three sides by uniform arcades decorated with frescoes, and closed on the fourth by the concave baroque façade of the cathedral, added in 1680 to hide the church's off-axis position. Behind the square, the Castello Sforzesco is a vast complex with stables designed for hundreds of horses, a covered road that allowed the duke to leave the castle unseen, and the Strada Sotterranea. It houses the Museum of the Shoe, celebrating Vigevano's tradition as Italy's footwear capital; one exhibit is a shoe said to have belonged to Beatrice d'Este. Leonardo studied the canals and mills of the area.
Tip: have a coffee under the arcades and admire the square at night when it is lit; risotto with frogs is a traditional dish of the Lomellina.
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