As Milan prepares to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, the city is briefly unlocking access to an elusive Leonardo da Vinci work: a vast, unfinished wall and ceiling painting hidden for centuries inside the Sforza Castle, which is normally concealed behind scaffolding as it undergoes restoration.
For just over five weeks, from February 7 to March 14, visitors will be allowed to climb the towering 20-foot scaffold inside the castle’s Sala delle Asse to view conservators at work on Leonardo’s mural, after which it will be sealed off again for another 18 months, making this limited public access a rare opportunity to see it up close mid-restoration.
