Santa Maria delle Grazie/The Last Supper

What draws so many visitors to Milan is the Cenacolo Vinciano, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. From 1495 to 1497, Leonardo painted this poignant portrayal of confusion and betrayal for the far wall of the refectory when this was a Dominican convent. Aldous Huxley called this fresco the "saddest work of art in the world," a comment in part on the deterioration that set in even before the paint had dried on the moisture-ridden walls. (It probably didn't help that the monks cooked their meals here.) The fresco got a lot of well-intentioned but poorly executed "touching up" in the 18th and 19th centuries, though a recent lengthy restoration has done away with these centuries of overpainting, as well as tried to undo the damage wrought by the clumsy patching and damage inflicted when Napoleon's troops used the wall for target practice, and from when Allied bombing during World War II tore off the room's roof, leaving the fresco exposed to the elements for 3 years.

In short, The Last Supper is a mere shadow of the work the artist intended it to be, but the work, which captures the moment when Christ told his Apostles that one of them would betray him, remains amazingly powerful and evocative nonetheless. Only 25 people are allowed to view the fresco at one time, and they must pass through a series of devices that remove pollutants from clothing. Accordingly, lines are long and tickets usually sold out days in advance. I'm serious: If you don't book ahead, you'll likely be turned away at the door, even in the dead of winter when you'd expect the place to be empty (tour bus groups swallow up inordinately large batches of tickets, leaving precious few for poor do-it-yourself travelers).

Often overlooked are the other treasures of the late-15th-century church itself, foremost among them the fine dome and other architectural innovations by one of the great architects of the High Renaissance, Donato Bramante (one of the first architects of St. Peter's in Rome). To one side of the apse, decorated in marble and terra cotta, is a lovely cloister.

A Last-Minute Invitation to The Last Supper

The Cenacolo Viniciano, the building that holds The Last Supper, is one of the most popular museums on a tourist's itinerary of Milan -- if not the only museum some tourists see. Space is limited, and thus so are reservations, so lots of folks leave the ticket booth disappointed. If you can't get a reservation, in a pinch you can take a guided 3-hour bus and walking tour of Milan's top attractions and take advantage of the guaranteed admission to The Last Supper as part of the package. Autostradale (tel. 02-3391-0794) tours leave every day except Monday at 9:30am from near the taxi stand in Piazza Duomo; tours cost 55€. Zani Viaggi has a similar tour with guaranteed admission to The Last Supper that also costs 55€ and leaves from Foro Buonaparte in front of the castle Tuesday to Sunday at 9:30am and 2:30pm.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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