Castello Sforzesco

The Castello Sforzesco is a massive red-brick fortress in the centre of Milan that has served as a military stronghold, a ducal palace, a barracks, and now one of the city's most important museum complexes. Built by Francesco Sforza in the 15th century on the ruins of an earlier Visconti castle, it was restored in the late 19th century by architect Luca Beltrami, who gave the castle the crenellated towers and imposing facade that define its current appearance.

The museums inside are excellent and undervisited. The Pinacoteca del Castello (picture gallery) includes works by Mantegna, Bellini, Correggio, and Tintoretto. The Museum of Ancient Art houses Michelangelo's final sculpture — the unfinished 'Rondanini Pietà,' a haunting, skeletal work that the artist was still carving six days before his death at 88. The Egyptian collection, the musical instrument collection, and the applied arts galleries round out a museum complex that could easily consume half a day.

The castle sits at the end of Via Dante, a pedestrianised shopping street that connects it to the Duomo area, and opens at the rear onto Parco Sempione — Milan's largest central park, designed in the English landscape style in the 1890s. The Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace), a neoclassical triumphal arch at the park's far end, provides a visual counterpoint to the castle and frames the view from the park's main avenue. The castle's courtyards are free to enter, and the museums are covered by a single ticket.