The Sforza Castle in Milan was built by the Dukes of Milan in the fifteenth century and then expanded to the magnificent citadel you can visit today.
Visiting Sforza Castle
As you can see from the map, the castle is pretty much in the centre of old Milan. We took the train to Milano Cadorna and then walked to the castle. I don’t recall there being many facilities in the castle but you aren’t exactly short of excellent cafes within a few minutes walk! Inside the grounds are several museums including an ancient art, a medieval art and an archeology museum.
My Experience
I didn’t spend as long as I’d have liked in the castle. I was visiting as part of a north Italian road trip, detailed on my blog here, with the kids and strangely, they had other interests! I spent enough time to pique my interest though and a future visit is on the cards, when we can travel again.
Sforza Castle Photo Gallery
History
The first fortification on this site was built in 1368. Years later it was enlarged and became a splendid ducal palace, which was then practically completely destroyed during the Golden Ambrosian Republic.
The Sforza family reconstructed the castle and made it into one of the most magnificent residences in Italy. Years later, the castle was used once more as a fortification under the Spanish and Austrian domination.
Napoleon ordered the demolition of the castle in 1800 and a year later the Spanish bastions and towers were destroyed.
During the second half of the nineteenth century the population was torn between keeping the Castle or destroying it to build a residential neighbourhood. However, the castle remained and the architect Luca Beltrami was instructed to renovate the castle, restoring it as it was when the Sforza family resided in it. The restoration was completed in 1905 and the central tower (Torre Filarete) and the Parco Sempione were inaugurated. The park was built on the former parade grounds.
During World War II the castle was severely damaged.
At the end of the twentieth century the Castle square was built with a fountain in the centre. However, in the sixties it was destroyed when the Milan Metro was built. In 2005, the restoration of the Cortile della Ghirlanda and the halls of the castle were completed.
References
The castle site here gives opening details and allows you to buy tickets online.
The history above is taken from the Introducing Milan site here.
The Wiki site with a lot more detail is here.