P414 - Italy - Sforza Castle in Milan

Sforza Castle, Milan, Italy

Castello Sforzesco (English: Sforza Castle) is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the ruling family of Milan and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.

The original construction on the site began in the 14th century. In 1450, Francesco Sforza began reconstruction of the castle, and it was further modified by later generations. A number of these rooms originally had elaborate internal decoration - the best known of these being the Sala Delle Asse with surviving ceiling paintings by Leonardo da Vinci

After the French victory in the 1515 Battle of Marignano, the defeated Massimiliano Sforza, his Swiss mercenaries and the cardinal-bishop of Sion retreated into the Castello Sforzesco. However, King Francis I of France followed them into Milan, and his sappers placed mines under the castle's foundations, whereupon the defenders submited.

After the unification of Italy in the 19th century, the restoration of the castle was started following its transfer from military use to the city of Milan. The restoration work was directed by Luca Beltrami. The central Filarete tower above the main city entrance was rebuilt between 1900 and 1905 as a monument to King Umberto I.

The castle was severely damaged as a result of the allied bombardment of Milan in 1943 during World War II. The post-war reconstruction of the building for museum purposes was undertaken by the BBPR architectural partnership.

斯福爾扎古堡 (義大利語：Castello Sforzesco）是義大利米蘭的一座城堡，曾經是統治米蘭的斯福爾扎家族的居所，現在安置了數個博物館。

這個地點上原來的建築始建於14世紀。1450年，弗朗切斯科·斯福爾扎一世開始重建城堡，其後人進一步加以修改。許多房間原來有精美的內部裝飾 -其中最著名的是達文西所作的天花板畫Sala Delle Asse。

1515年法國在馬里尼亞諾戰役中獲勝，戰敗的馬克西米利安·斯福爾扎、他的瑞士雇傭兵和錫永樞機主教撤退回到斯福爾扎古堡。但是，法國國王弗朗索瓦一世跟著他們進入米蘭，他的工兵在城堡地下安放了地雷，於是防禦者投降。

19世紀義大利統一以後，城堡得到修復，但是不再用作軍事用途，而是移交給米蘭市。修復工作由盧卡·貝爾特拉米（Luca Beltrami）領導。主要城市入口上方的中央塔樓重建於1900年至1905年，作為國王翁貝托一世的紀念碑。

在第二次世界大戰期間的1943年，米蘭遭到盟軍轟炸，該城堡受到嚴重破壞。戰後，由BBPR建築事務所重建，作為博物館使用，包括古代藝術博物館，傢具博物館，樂器和應用藝術博物館，考古博物館埃及和史前部，不過最著名的還是Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco，藏品包括米開朗基羅最後的雕塑作品Rondanini Pietà和達文西的Codex Trivulzianus原稿。

References sources : wikipedia