The Sforzesco Castle and the Museum of Ancient Art in Milan are among the favorite destinations for the guests of the Hotel Astoria and thanks to the excellent location of the hotel can be easily reached by public transport.

Museum of ancient art

The best of Michelangelo’s artistic genius may very well be represented by his last work, even in its unfinished state: the “Pietà Rondanini.” A jewel of the city, it is preserved in a dedicated area of the Museo d’Arte Antica, an extraordinary place for learning about the roots of regional and national artistic production.

The rooms nearby are filled with artworks known across the world, including the equestrian statue of Bernabò, by Bonino Da Campione, the reclining statue of Gaston IV, Count of Foix and French hero, as well as Lombardy statues from late Lombard antiquity. There are Byzantine artworks, such as the “Testa di Teodora” (sculptured head of Princess Theodora), the “Gonfalone di Milano” created by Giuseppe Meda between 1565 and 1566 and other invaluable exhibits whisper of forgotten customs and costumes: swords, plate armour and antique pistols. The tour of the past comes to a close with a rich exhibition of armour.

Amongst the works kept at the Museo d’Arte Antica the following stand out: the Sarcophagus of Lambrate, the fruit of sculptures of Lombard origin; the Head of Theodora, a Byzantine artwork; the Tomb of Bernabò Visconti, created in the 14th century in Gothic style; the Campionesi artworks; the bas-reliefs of the antique Porta Romana; the Renaissance-style funeral monument of Gastone de Foix; and finally the Pietà Rondanini by Michelangelo, a sculpture in marble that remains unfinished.