From 16 May to 12 January 2020, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the Sala delle Asse, the most important room of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, is exceptionally reopened to the public after 6 years of studies and restorations, revealing the new traces of Leonardo that have appeared on its walls.
Through the scenographic multimedia installation “Sotto l’ombra del Moro“, visitors were guided in reading the entire space of the Hall, shifting attention from the vault to the side walls and discovering how Leonardo developed his concept of imitation of nature here enough to imagine an undergrowth and, beyond the trees, houses and hills on the horizon.
The reopening of the Sala delle Asse, the heart of the “Milan and Leonardo 500” programme, was anticipated on the evening of 15 May by an inaugural event open to the public, entitled “Leonardo 500”: a game of images and sounds projected on the Torre del Filarete, visible from the Cortile delle Armi, and a concert of ancient music performed by the students of the “Claudio Abbado” Civic School of Music under the “Leonardo’s Pergola”, the botanical architecture created on the occasion of Leonardo’s celebrations which has its roots in Courtyard itself.
Cinema also entered the Castle and the “Leonardo mai visto” program with a production by Sky and Progetto Immagine entitled “Io, Leonardo“, created with the scientific consultancy of Pietro Marani and directed by Jesus Garces Lambert.
In the exhibition itinerary of the Museum of Ancient Art, in the Sala degli Scarlioni, an excerpt of the film and the “behind the scenes” of the feature film were projected in loop, which dedicates an entire chapter to Leonardo’s works of art in Milan and testimonies of his stay in Milan.
Dhs Event Solution took care of the technical direction of the event, with audio video direction and lighting design that illuminated the Sala delle Asse of the castle.
