Since the end of War World II, the City Museums of Pavia have been housed in the castle built by Galeazzo II Visconti between 1360 and 1365. Although the castle is now missing the north wing that once faced the park and linked its spaces to the nearby Charterhouse, the building still preserves its original harmony and remains one of the greatest examples of Late Gothic Lombard architecture. Visitors, therefore, walk through an important historical building whose walls still display fine frescoes from the times of the Viscontis and Sforzas.

The art collection of the Visconti Castle is closely tied to the city of Pavia and the neighbouring areas. It includes unique masterpieces of Lombard goldsmithery, plutei from Santa Maria Teodote, floor mosaics from the twelfth century, the wooden architectural model of the cathedral of Pavia, and also paintings by famous artists such as Gentile da Fabriano, Antonello da Messina, Giovanni Bellini, Vincenzo Foppa, Ambrogio Bergognone, Francesco Hayez, Federico Faruffini, Zandomeneghi, etc.
 
The museums of Pavia occupy three floors of the castle and consist of multiple sections and collections. There is the Archaeological and early Medieval Lombard section; the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance sculpture sections; the Malaspina Gallery, with works of art from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century; the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century galleries; the section of nineteenth century paintings; the section on the Civic School of Painting; the Morone Collection; the gallery of twentieth century landscapes of Pavia; the Risorgimento Museum; the World War I room; the modern sculpture and cast collection; the “900/2000” section; the “Collector’s room” about Marquis Malaspina (1754-1835); and the multimedia rooms devoted to the “Battle of Pavia” and to the “Visconti Library”. Two areas, the “Sala del Rivellino” and the “Scuderie”, house temporary exhibitions.