THE LEONARDESCHI AT SFORZA CASTLE | guided tour for groups

Engineer, director of court festivities, scholar of water, painter: who was Leonardo really at the court of Ludovico il Moro? The tour begins in the Piazza d’Armi of Sforza Castle, beneath the pergola that evokes the Sala delle Asse, the illusionistic grove of mulberry trees Leonardo painted for the duke. Starting from the famous letter in which the artist introduced himself to il Moro, the guide retraces the years of Leonardo’s stay in Milan: the stage machinery for the Festa del Paradiso, his studies of the Navigli canals, the project for the great Horse, the Virgin of the Rocks, the portraits of the court ladies and the Last Supper.

The story continues in Room XXI of the Pinacoteca, reopened with a new layout in 2026 and devoted to the Leonardeschi, the artists who trained in his workshop or absorbed his lessons. Bernardino Luini’s lunettes with portraits of the Sforza dynasty, Marco d’Oggiono’s Virgin of the Rocks, Andrea Solario’s refined Portrait of a Lady, Bernardo Zenale’s Saint John the Baptist, which resurfaced after centuries and recently entered the civic collections, and Giovanni Angelo del Maino’s dramatic carved wooden Lamentation reveal how Leonardo’s language spread through Milan, transforming painting and even sculpture. Marble portraits, medals by Caradosso and multimedia stations devoted to restoration complete a tour that brings back to life the face of a court and the legacy of a genius.

• ENG €150.00 | Audio equipment: €40.00 per group | Admission ticket, full price: €10.00