CittàCittà didi VigevanoVigevano VV E E R R S S O O EEXX P P O O 22 0 0 1 1 5 5 II D D E E A A L L TT O O W W N N VigevanoVigevano Città di Vigevano V E R S O E X P O 2 0 1 5 Vigevano IDEAL TOWN With patronage of: V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Leonardo da Vinci and the “Ideal Town” [This day 2 February 1494 at the Sforzesca I drew 25 steps of 2/3 of an arm each, 8 arms wide] Leonardo da Vinci’s time in Vigevano is documented by (Leonardo da Vinci - Manuscript H, sheet 65 v.) the town’s significant cultural heritage, origins of which “Adì 2 di febraio 1494 alla Sforzesca ritrassi scalini 25 di 2/3 di braccio l’uno largo braccia 8” can be traced back to the Sforzesca era. (Leonardo da Vinci - Manoscritto H, foglio 65 v.) A figure immediately evoking the happy combination of technology and art, Leonardo worked as an engineer for the Duke, Ludovico Sforza, known as “Il Moro”, for over twenty years. The Castle and Piazza Ducale clearly evoke the great master’s designs for the “Ideal Town”, as does the Sforzesca, with its network of canals, mills and the Colombarone, the first example of a Lombard farm. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Built between 1492 and 1494 at the wishes of Ludovico il Moro, Piazza Ducale was one of the first models of a Piazza Ducale Renaissance square and is one of the best examples of XV century Lombard architecture. Donato Bramante was undoubtedly present among those architects involved in the work at the Milan nobles’ court. The Piazza was built to add lustre to the town as the preferred residence of the Duke. The antechamber to the entrance of the imposing Visconti-Sforza castle, it originally had a flight of stone steps permitting the triumphal entrance of the Dukes to the Castle residence. The pulsing hub of the town, it is surrounded by porticoes and arcades supported by 84 columns with capitals in different styles, and owes its present form to the Bishop Architect Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz who built the baroque facade of the Cathedral in 1680. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Sant’Ambrogio Cathedral Cattedrale di Sant’Ambrogio The building of the Cathedral dedicated to Sant’Ambrogio, Bishop of Milan, was started by the Duke Francesco II Sforza in 1532 to a design by Antonio da Lonate and completed in 1606. The Baroque facade - designed by Bishop Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz-was juxtaposed to remedy the asymmetry of the square in front. Inside are important works of art among which valuable paintings by Macrino d’Alba and Bernardino Ferrari. Adjacent to the Cathedral of Sant’Ambrogio is the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo which contains, as well as precious corals and miniature codices by Ferrante Decio, an extremely valuable reliquary in gold-plated silver by the Lombard school, Flemish tapestries and a sixteenth century wall-hanging used in Monza for the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 The Dukes‘ Architecture Le architetture del Duca The group of monuments composed of the Piazza Ducale and Visconteo-Sforzesco Castle as seen today, is the result of construction works which lasted over two centuries during the reigns of the Visconti and Sforza in Milan. This was the period during which Vigevano reached its maximum splendour, becoming the ducal residence and an important commercial centre. The town developed in a spiral around the castle which is one of the biggest fortified structures in Europe: the buildings composing it covering over 70,000 square metres. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 The Duke’s Palace Palazzo Ducale Up until the mid 1300s the Maschio (Keep) – corresponding to the ancient “castrum” and probably of Lombard origin - was used for the defence of the residents and as a safe refuge for the inhabitants of the hamlet and suburbs. Its transformation into the Duke’s Palace began in 1345 and it was mainly Ludovico il Moro with the guidance of Donato Bramante who gave it the appearance of a renaissance palace. Lombard artists and artisans worked to adorn the great halls with frescoes and magnificent furnishings for the duke’s court, illustrious figures and sovereigns. Some of the frescoes, dating to the second half of the XV century, are still visible today; the Sala dell’Affresco is particularly important and depicts a hunting scene, the favourite pastime of the Dukes of Milan. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Bramante Tower Torre del Bramante This is the symbol of Vigevano inasmuch as standing at the highest point of the town. It was built in various stages starting in 1198 and was made a vantage point at the wishes of Ludovico il Moro and his wife Beatrice d’Este in 1492 - 1494, becoming the official entrance to the castle. Its unusual outline was used as the model for the reconstruction of the Filerete Tower in the Sforzesco castle in Milan in the XIX century: composed of gradually smaller sections, from its battlements it offers a complete panorama over the Piazza, Castle and entire town. The bronze dome was added in 1563 in place of the original conical spire. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Falconry | Falconiera This is the elegant overhead loggia from which the art of falconry was practised during the time of the dukes of Milan. Recently restored, it is attributed to Donato Bramante and has round arches supported by slim granite columns with capitals similar to those of the ducal stables. Frescoes with decorative motifs of the renaissance period have been rediscovered on the colonnades. The Ladies’ Loggia | Loggia delle Dame This was built beside the Palazzo Ducale around 1490 by Donato Bramante upon appointment by Ludovico il Moro and originally overlooked a hanging garden known as the “Duchess’ garden” below which the castle cellars were situated. The Loggia bears the typical features of Bramante’s designs with seven round arches in white marble resting on columns with elegant capitals in dark stone and floral motifs. This was the “ladies” part of the Castle, where Beatrice d’Este and her ladies in waiting resided. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Stables | Scuderie Three long stables divide the Castle area from the town. Imposing buildings, one of which - built at the orders of Ludovico il Moro – recalls Leonardo da Vinci’s designs for his “model stable” in the Paris Codex B and the Trivulziano Codex. One of the stables is the permanent home of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale della Lomellina, while the other two are used for temporary exhibitions. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Covered Road and Vaults Strada coperta e Sotterranee The “Covered Road” or “Upper level” is a unique feature throughout European castle architecture and was built to the orders of Luchino Visconti starting in 1340. Its construction as a fortified bridge served a specific purpose: that of protecting the passage of the Milanese nobles and joining the Castle to the Old Fort by a safe route. The raised section of the Road thus provided room for the areas at town level known as the “Vaults” or “Lower level”. The Vaults blend in with the architecture of the Duke’s Palace and are used for temporary exhibitions. From this level it’s possible to admire the imposing foundations of the Duke’s Palace. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Cavallerizza A majestic building with a interesting structure made of wooden trusses, it was built in 1837 on the area where the destroyed Old Fort once stood. Initially designed as an indoor riding stables, it was subsequently refurbished: the area of over 1500 square metres is used for events, shows, exhibitions, conferences and initiatives of various kinds and also includes a garden communicating with the Covered Road and the Vaults of the Castle. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Shoe Museum Museo della Calzatura The ‘’Pietro Bertolini” Shoe Museum in Vigevano is the only public museum in Italy dedicated to the history and evolution of shoes. Situated in the suggestive, fifteenth-century setting of the Sforzesco Castle, the museum sets out to express, through its narration of the shoe, both the history and economy of Vigevano and the international evolution of the shoe as a design and fashion object. The museum is divided into 4 sections: historic, ethnic, modern and interesting facts. Vigevano is famous throughout the world for its shoe-making tradition, an ancient trade documented in the Borough Statute dating back to 1392. V E R S O E X P O Vigevano 2 0 1 5 Picture Gallery | Pinacoteca Above the stables of Ludovico il Moro is the seat of the Civic Picture Gallery “Casimiro Ottone” containing the most important works of Lomellina artists. The gallery has 10 identical rooms containing various works, among which portions of the original frescoes of Piazza Ducale dating to the XV-XVI century and a valuable work of art by the Lombard artist Bernardino Ferrari, dating to 1515.