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Castello Sforzesco
Founded by Visconti Dukes of Milan in 1300, the castle is situated immediately outside the medieval walls. After its partial destruction during the "Golden Republic" (1447 - 50), Francesco Sforza rebuilt it to make his residence.
The castle underwent several alterations and was repeatedly extended according to every change of regime: first Lodovico il Moro until 1499, then under the Spanish dominion in the middle of 1500 and under the French in 1800. But the way the castle looks now is the result of one of the most important and intense reorganization processes carried out by Luca Beltrami, between '800 and' 900, who reinvented the fortress and added important elements. Despite often being known as an example of Renaissance building, Beltrami’s reorganization was so relevant that it seems more correct to consider it as a complex of eclectic style, showing all the traces that each period left on the castle.
In the course of its life the castle risked many times to be destroyed. The government of the Golden Republic wanted to demolish it, later a few administrations deliberated to raze it: first the Spanish, then under Napoleon a few mines were exploded but luckily they all changed their mind.
Eventually, in the end of 1800, the town council decided to remove the castle to build a wide residential area. It was thanks to Beltrami that the Mayor Giulio Belinzaghi decided to save the castle, against the opinion of many people that, like the politician Cesare Correnti, considered the fortress as a monument to get rid of.
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