Everyone knows theLast Supper Of Leonardo da Vincithe famous fresco preserved in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. However, not everyone knows that the city preserves a second proof of the skill and influence of the Tuscan painter and inventor: the frescoes of the Sala delle Asse in the Sforzesco Castle. On the occasion of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, guided tours were organized in the room on the ground floor of the Falconiera tower on the north-eastern side of the Castle.
Leonardo’s frescoes in the Sala delle Asse: the decoration
We are in the north-eastern corner of the Castle, at the foot of the Falconer’s tower, and the year is 1498: we are under the rule of Duke Ludovico il Moro and Leonardo da Vinci is working on a fresco dedicated to the duke himself. There is not much historical documentation on the Sala delle Asse, but we have some significant letters dating back to the period of Sforza rule, which specifically mentions a “master Leonardo” as the author of the decoration of the hall.
Once the wooden planks that covered the walls had been removed to protect the rooms from the cold and humidity (a characteristic to which we owe the name by which it is still known today), Leonardo began work. What the artist creates is a grandiose fresco on the vault of the Hallwhich depicts a mulberry pergola.
The pergola, starting from the large trees painted along the walls, develops to cover the entire vault in a tangle of branches and golden ropes. In the cartouches of the vault the inscriptions recall the marriage of Bianca Maria Sforza (Moro’s niece) with the emperor Maximilian (1493-94), the ducal investiture of Ludovico (1495) and the journey with Beatrice to ask for Maximilian’s help in the war with Charles VIII (1496). The fourth, unfortunately illegible, recalls the victory of the French king Louis XII over the Moor. Behind the mulberry tree trunks, which had to go down almost to the ground, it was necessary open the territory of Ludovico il Moro as far as the eye can see towards the horizon under a big blue sky.
In the center of the ceiling we see the shield with the coats of arms of the noble Sforza and Este families, while on the walls of the north corner of the room there is the famous “monochrome”a large part of a preparatory drawing that depicts the roots of a mulberry tree insinuating themselves into the ground, breaking rocks and boulders. The composition framed the mouth of the large fireplace present in the room at the time of Ludovico il Moro, to whom the work is dedicated: the mulberry trees, also calledmoroni”were chosen in reference to the duke due to his nickname “Moro”, but also to pay homage to his political wisdom through the symbolism of the time.
Unfortunately, Leonardo never completed the work: with the fall of the duke and the arrival of the French in September 1499, he quickly abandoned Milan.
The restorations of the Sala dell’Asse and the extraordinary opening of the Castello Sforzesco
The paintings are up to date subjected to a long restorationa necessary intervention given the treatment they have received over the centuries: under the various dominations, the Sforzesco Castle was used as a military use. The Sala delle Asse, in particular, was intended for shelter space for horses: for this reason the frescoes had several faces covered with white lime.
This torment fortunately ended in 1893when the Castle was handed over to the Municipality of Milan. In that same year the first restorationunder the direction of the architect Luca Beltramiwith pictorial interventions by the restorer Ernesto Rusca. In 1902 the room was opened to the public, but they didn’t like it: the colors were too bright, and therefore very far from the “shaded” original by Leonardo. After the Second World War, with the major renovation of the Castle following the damage suffered in the bombings, it was decided to return to restore it: on this occasion the famous monochrome was brought to light.
Given the general deterioration of the Hall over the years, a new campaign of diagnostic investigations was started in 2012 to restart the restoration, during which it emerged a portion of ancient plaster still hidden under many layers: once removed, new traces of preparatory drawings emerged.
Just think, only at this point were the experts able to understand the general design of the fresco!
Although the works are still in progress, the Hall has been opened several times exceptionally: Also during the 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina a program of guided tours of the scaffolding was inaugurated, which allowed Leonardo’s work to be seen up close.
