Hall 15, Pietà Rondanini
Sala 15 - the last Hall where the itinerary ends - Sala degli Scaglioni and the Pietà Rondanini:The great official reception Hall, destined in the XVth century to host the meetings of the "Consiglio Segreto" (Secret Council) and "Consiglio" for Justice takes its name from the red and white frescoed decoration in a zigzag pattern that the Sforzas called "a scaglioni" or "a scarioni". Formerly the same design could be seen on the vault. In the centre of the hall are two exceptional works of art, masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture, which are among the most famous of the Castle' s treasures, are displayed: the magnificent, unfinished funerary monument of Gaston de Foix by Bambaja. The marble figure of Gaston de Foix, youthful hero of the battle of Ravenna, Duke of Nemours and representative of the king, was meant to have been placed in the Church of Santa Marta but this was not realized.
Michelangelo' s last work, the deeply moving Pietà Rondanini found in the artist's studio when he died in 1564 can also be admired here. The confirmation of the presence of this work in Michelangelo' s house can be seen from the inventory of his worldly goods made after his death. It is not known exactly when Michelangelo began to rough-hew the marble for the Pietà Rondanini, but it appears likely that the original version to which the mutilated unfinished right arm and at least in part the legs of Christ belong, can classified as being sculpted between 1552-1553 and 1555. In addition to the early evidence, a document dated the 21st August 1561 allows one to draw the conclusion that Michelangelo gave the unfinished work to his servant Antonio del Francese (which substantiates the theory that the sculpture was not commissioned). For the next two hundred years there was no further news of the destiny of the marble group. It reappears in an inventory of 1807 recording the works kept in the Marchese Rondanini's collection in Rome described as "a rough-hewn modern group said to be the work of Michelangelo...but this is known to be a misunderstanding". The modest valuation (thirty scudi) illustrates the surprising lack of understanding regarding, what is considered today, the most tormented and dramatic experiment by the artist on the threshold of death. Further proof of in how little consideration the Pietà Rondanini was held can be seen by the State giving up its pre-emption right in 1904, at the moment in which Palazzo Rondanini together with the collections was being sold, after various changes of ownership, to the Conti Sanseverino Vimercati. Eventually the sculpture was bought by the Comune of Milan in 1952 and assigned to the Castello Sforzesco. In 2003 an intervention to clean the work of art was set in motion. In June 2004 the Pietà Rondanini went back on public view. The operation went ahead after much reflection and a long phase of work lasting from 1998 until the end of 2002. This was dedicated to archive research and close investigation to identify the nature of the dust deposited on the complex surface of the statue, and the vicissitude of successive casts for reproductions using procedures that had left marks on the marble surface. We know, in fact, that when the statue was in the possession of the Rondanini family it was placed in a recess in the courtyard and thus exposed to damage from atmospheric agents and that it was only in the early nineteen-thirties that it was transferred to the main floor and finally protected in the library of Count Sanseverino Vimercati. At least two casts of the statue were taken. The first on the occasion of celebrations for Michelangelo in 1875 and the second in Milan in the 'fifties while carrying out trials to choose the best eventual setting. The residue of materials used to make the casts, the substantial deposits of dust as well as damage caused by exposure to the elements to the already non-homogeneous surface chiselled by the artist, had affected the surface of the sculpture making it difficult to recognize the really noteworthy quality of the shaped figure. The Roman funerary altar from the 1st century A.C. on which the statue is currently mounted, a decision made by the previous owners, has been cleaned as well.
