SFORZA CASTLE, Exterior

Now your real tour of Sforza Castle begins, starting with a nice walk. You'll start off from Filarete Tower, which is the main entrance, and will go all around the Castle's exterior by following its moat. As you can see, both ends of the Castle have massive towers: you should go take a closer look at their stone cladding. See if you can find a coat of arms with a snake, which was the Sforza's symbol. A few hundred meters along you'll notice a massive ruin called Rivellino which was used to connect the fortification with the outer walls: go around the castle on that side. Now pause the guide and go to the back entrance of the Castle, on the park side.

Now you're right at the middle of the façade, by the rear door. If you turn your back to the Castle, the view of the park is stunning. The beautiful monument you can see beyond the park is called the Arch of Peace, and is an important work from the neo-classical period at the beginning of the nineteenth century. You may have noticed the windows along the brick wall inside the moat: it's important to know that there was once a covered walkway that connected the castle with the convent of Holy Mary of Grace almost a kilometer away, and those windows served to light it. Now pause the guide and continue your tour around the castle until you reach the Ponticella (bridge) of Ludovico il Moro....