This picturesque medieval castle was built in the 14th century as the residence of the Milanese Visconti family. Later it belonged to another illustrious dynasty - the Sforza, whose duke in the 15th century had to practically rebuild the castle from scratch after rebellious peasants had taken it apart stone by stone.
Leonardo da Vinci himself took part in the restoration work. He decorated the halls and the duke's chambers. Unfortunately, almost nothing remains of his frescoes today. But Leonardo's literary manuscripts and the pergola he worked on have survived. The castle also displays works by other renowned masters of that time: Michelangelo's last sculpture, paintings by Bellini, Mantegna, and other artists.
Today, several museums are located behind the walls of Sforza Castle, each of them interesting in its own way: the museum of ancient Egypt, the museum of musical instruments, tableware, and others. By the way, among the musical instruments you can find very curious specimens, for example, a Cerutti violin. But the museum's main pride is the piano of the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi.
On the outside, the castle is incredibly beautiful! Moreover, from the inside it seems even more massive than from the outside. Not only the towers and massive walls have been preserved, but also the suspended iron gates, real cannonballs, and even the moat surrounding the castle.
If the appearance of the fortress reminds anyone of the Moscow Kremlin, they would not be mistaken. It was Sforza Castle that Italian architects used as the model when building the Kremlin towers and walls in the center of Moscow.
