7 castles to visit in Lombardy

The imposing crenellated walls and the four towers of the defensive structure still remain today. The atmosphere is made even more fairytale-like by the possibility of walking along the walkway and admiring the lighthouse on the pier and the lake framed by the mountains from above. A unique view.

A symbol of the Milanese Renaissance, Sforzesco Castle was founded in 1368 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti. With the Torre del Filarete tower, rebuilt in 1905, the Piazza delle Armi square with its vast lawn and the Cortile della Rocchetta courtyard, it has spanned centuries of history. Today, it houses the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Collection of Applied Art, the Museum of Ancient Art, whose decoration Leonardo participated in, the Pinacoteca art gallery and the Egyptian section. In the Sala del Tesoro, some frescoes by Bramante can be admired, while in the Sala delle Asse, there is a pergola by Leonardo.

The piano that Albert Einstein played with his sister during the months spent at Palazzo Cornazzani is perhaps the most curious object to be found in the Visconti Castle in Pavia. Built in 1360 by Galeazzo Visconti as the home of his court, the castle is now home to the Civic Museums. In addition to the collections, the inner loggia and the pointed mullioned windows in the façades are also worth a visit. Try to count them: how many are there?

Perched on an overhanging hill in Montagna di Valtellina, Sondrio, Castel Grumello is a curious manor formed by two identical buildings connected by a wall. Today, little remains of the 13th-century defensive post. An excursion to the top of the hill is a must, to contemplate the ruins and the Valtellina from above, which is particularly impressive at sunset.

Rocca Sforzesca, also known as Soncino's Castle, in the province of Cremona, tells the story of the transformation from a 10th-century military building to a noble residence. The towers, the moat, the scallops and the access bridge reveal the task of defence. On the inside, you can see traces of the frescoes commissioned by the Milanese Stampa family.

The walls of the Castle of San Giorgio recall Isabella d'Este as the First Woman of the Renaissance, endowed with taste and a thorough humanistic education, and an astute chess player. In the Castle where he lived for a long time, he hosted Leonardo, Perugino, Tiziano, Raffaello and Mantegna. Its most precious treasure is the Bridal Chamber painted by Mantegna in the north-east tower.

A castle in the middle of the fields of the Serio Park, in Bergamo, built in the mid-1300s. It was the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni, captain-general of the Venetian Republic, who wanted it as a private residence in 1456. As fate would have it, he only had daughters: Ursina, Isotta, Caterina, Medea, Dorotina, Riccadonna, Cassandra and Polissena. The village therefore passed to his grandchildren. Males.