The Castello Sforzesco risked demolition, did you know that?
The Castello Sforzesco is one of the largest in Europe and was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza.
Today it is a much-loved symbol of the city, but how come in the past there were plans to make it disappear?
It was a popular petition that demanded its demolition in 1796, as a symbol of the ‘ancient tyranny’, and it was Napoleon who accepted the popular unease and ordered its total demolition by decree on 23 June 1800.
Work even began on the side towers and the Spanish bastions, but fortunately it was not completed.
In spite of this, popular discontent persisted and demolition was attempted again, with a planned residential quarter in its place.
If we can still admire our beloved castle today, it is thanks to the work of the architect Luca Beltrami and the Società Storica Lombarda ETS, of which he was vice-president, who restored it to the splendour of the Sforza seigniory in 1905.
