Along with the Duomo, Milano’s immense Castello Sforzesco is today the city’s own best-loved historical monument, though for centuries it was the site of painful events and a symbol for locals of the oppression and violence wreaked by the rulers of Milano and foreign invaders. Only in the 20th century did it become a more reassuring cultural center, housing a wealth of Lombard art. While its name dates back to the 15th century and Francesco Sforza, who began reconstruction of the castle in 1450, it was Galeazzo II Visconti who built the original structure in the second half of the 1300s.
La Rocchetta, situated in the northwest section of the castle, is a massive quadrangular structure and the castle’s most heavily fortified portion, with high windowless outer walls in areas exposed to enemy attack. When the castle was home to the Sforza dukes, La Rochetta also hosted several sumptuous apartments, but under Spanish domination the structure returned to its original military function. Today La Rocchetta houses collections of applied art and a musical instrument museum.