#mynovgetaway Vigevano is a town near Milan, in northern Italy. It’s known for the portico-lined Piazza Ducale, dating from 1492. A staircase under the Torre del Bramante tower gives access to the courtyard of Castello Sforzesco. The vast castle houses several museums, including the Leonardiana, with reproductions of works by Leonardo da Vinci. The town's renowned shoemaking history is highlighted at the Museo della Calzatura. The earliest records of Vigevano date from the 10th century AD, when it was a favoured residence of the Lombard king Arduin, for the sake of the good hunting in the vicinity. Vigevano was a Ghibelline commune, favoring the Emperor and was accordingly besieged and taken by the Milanese in 1201 and again in 1275. In 1328 it finally surrendered to Azzone Visconti, and thereafter shared the political fortunes of Milan. The Church of San Pietro Martire (St Peter Martyr) was built, with the adjacent Dominican convent, by Filippo Maria Visconti in 1445. In the last years of Visconti domination it sustained a siege by Francesco Sforza. Once he was settled in power in Lombardy, Sforza arranged for Vigevano to be set up as the seat of a bishop and provided its revenues.