Egyptian Museum of Milan

The Egyptian Museum of Milan (Museo Egizio di Milano) is an Egyptological museum housed in the Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) in Milan, Italy. It ranks among the most significant Egyptian collections in Italy, surpassed in scale only by the museums in Turin and Florence. The museum occupies the underground level of the ducal courtyard within the castle, one of Milan's most celebrated monuments, which also contains several other institutions including the Museum of Ancient Art, the Pinacoteca, and the Museum of Musical Instruments. The collection serves as the Egyptian Section of the Milan Archaeological Museum and has undergone major renovations to improve accessibility and presentation.

The first Egyptian antiquities arrived in Milan during the 1820s, though they were not displayed publicly until much later. Ownership of the collections passed to the municipality of Milan in 1900. The Egyptian Museum proper opened to the public in 1973, initially situated in the basement of the Rocchetta courtyard within the Sforza Castle. The collections expanded considerably through private donations and through excavations conducted in Egypt during the 1930s by Achille Vogliano, a Florentine papyrologist and Egyptologist. In 2003, following a restructuring of the exhibition, the museum was relocated to the Visconti-era rooms of the castle. A further renovation in 2021 introduced multimedia supports, removed architectural barriers, and installed new lighting for the artifacts. After a closure of nine years, the museum reopened to the public on 5 March 2026.

The museum's holdings now comprise approximately 3,000 objects. The collection places particular emphasis on funerary customs of ancient Egypt, including stelae, a Book of the Dead, amulets, ushabtis, canopic jars, and sarcophagi. A significant portion of the material derives from the excavations led by Achille Vogliano at Medinet-Madi in the Fayyum region between 1935 and 1936. The assemblage spans multiple domains of Egyptian civilization, from royal and religious contexts to daily life, and includes important bronze sculpture.

Among the most notable pieces in the collection are the funerary equipment of Peftauajaset and a bronze statue of Osiris. The sixth section of the museum, dedicated to the Vogliano excavations, features a statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III of the Twelfth Dynasty (1842-1794 BCE) from Medinet-Madi. The mummies, sarcophagi, and funerary masks section displays a mummy from the Greco-Roman period originating from Thebes, alongside ancient Egyptian sarcophagi. The funerary cult section preserves several papyri from the Book of the Dead. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a cube statue with an enigmatic face.

The museum is located in the underground level of the ducal courtyard of the Sforza Castle, a fortress that stands as one of Milan's most famous monuments. The castle complex accommodates multiple museums and cultural institutions. The Egyptian collections share this historic site with the Prehistory and Protohistory Museum, also situated in the castle's underground spaces. The 2021 renovation addressed the physical accessibility of these subterranean galleries while preserving their historic character within the medieval and Renaissance fortress.

The Egyptian Museum of Milan is located at Sforza Castle in the centre of Milan, Italy. It operates under municipal ownership, having been transferred to the comune of Milan in 1900. The museum reopened on 5 March 2026 after a nine-year closure. Its official website is http://museoegizio.milanocastello.it. The museum is divided into seven thematic sections: Ancient Egyptian writing; Pharaohs; Deities and cults; Everyday ancient Egyptian life; Funerary cult; Excavations conducted by Achille Vogliano; and Mummies, sarcophagi and funerary masks.