Ciao amiche!
It’s been awhile since I’ve written. I’m happy to be back with the next installment of my Milano adventures. As I mentioned in my last blog, my trip to Northern Italy was in honor of my sister N’s 70th birthday and included stays in Milan and Cinque Terre.
In this post I’m sharing highlights from our wonderful Viator walking tour “Skip The Line: Best Of Milan Tour With Last Supper Tickets & Milan Duomo.” We went on several Viator experiences during our Italian journey. I like Viator because they hire local guides and are professional, knowledgeable and reasonably priced.
Lost and found
Our plan was to walk to the Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie where we were to meet our group. I set the GPS from the hotel and off we went. What should have been a quick stroll turned into a 45 minute fiasco. “OMG we’re going to miss The Last Supper,” I said to N as the clock struck 10:15 am. Luck was on our side, just as we realized we needed to hustle, a taxi pulled up and whizzed us off to the church. “There’s an angel above us,” I said to N. “An angel.”
There were several tours gathering. Thankfully our tickets were left at the entrance and we found our guide L.
Travel pointer: Never walk to a scheduled tour in a foreign country — or even in the U.S. — when you’re not sure where you’re going and have to be at your destination at a specific time.
The Last Supper is located in the refectory of the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Leonardo da Vinci’s Masterpiece Mural
It was amazing to think that Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper over the course of three years (1495 – 1498). This masterpiece mural takes up a full wall in the church. It’s also incredible that this painting has survived for more than 500 years — through floods, World Wars and other invasions. L mentioned that there was a major restoration of the painting in 1999.
No more than 40 people can view The Last Supper at a time to keep the artwork protected with holding rooms before and after
“Leonardo used an alfresco style technique on fresh plaster which allows the colors to penetrate like a sponge” said L. “He used this experimental technique because he was a scientist. It gave him time to work slowly. His mind was called in different directions.”
L provided background on The Last Supper: “Leonardo depicted a very special moment. Jesus was telling the apostles ‘you will betray me.’ It’s a moment full of emotion. He was representing the psychology of the people. He said he wanted to paint the human soul.”
Our guide L said that Leonardo’s depiction is a very unorthodox Last Supper since he didn’t paint halos
Walking to the Duomo
Upon exiting the church we headed towards the Duomo. Our guide L provided commentary on each landmark we passed including:
Marchesi Pasticceria an old bakery dating to 1824 — now owned by Prada
The controversial L.O.V.E sculpture facist symbol with severed fingers in front of Milan Stock Exchange
Milan’s first Starbucks Roastery housed in an old Stock Exchange building — with daily lines out the door
The Galleria, with a glass & iron roof and designer boutiques, connects the Duomo to La Scala Opera House
An awe-inspiring cathedral
It was close to midday by the time we reached the Milano Duomo. L told us that it took over 400+ years to finish the cathedral — 1386 to 1805. Can you imagine working on a building for that long?
The church is all marble, which is not a strong stone. We noticed the scaffolding which surrounds parts of the structure where the marble is now being refurbished.
Milano Duomo is a Gothic-style Catholic church dedicated to Mary
Inside the Duomo is a long sundial stripe with astrological month markers along with a hole in the roof for the sun to peek through. In the 1700s this was done as a way to tell time.
A hole in the roof of the Duomo enabled visitors to tell time back in the 1700s
L pointed to the huge glass windows as she explained their meaning. ” These windows tell the story of the Bible instead of painted pictures. These stained glass windows are the largest in the world,” she said.
Three large stained glass windows tell the story of the New Testament sacred history
While the city of Milan was heavily bombed in the 1940s during WWII, thankfully the Duomo was avoided.
An afternoon aperitivo
As the tour ended, we had one more stop to make. Our day wouldn’t be complete without an afternoon aperitif at the original Campari bar housed in the Galleria. Opened in 1915, Campari Bar Milano is the place to see and be seen sipping the symbol of the Milanese aperitivo. Not wanting a Classic Negroni, N and I opted for a Campari & Soda. It actually looked better than it tasted. We agreed that we would have preferred an Aperol Spritz aperitivo.
Sipping Campari aperitivo is a classic thing to do at the original Campari Bar in the Galleria
Despite our dislike for Campari we raised our glass in good cheer.
Judi
P.S. – Coming soon our Italian adventures continue with a visit to Lake Como and Bellagio. Ooh, la, la.
Great recap of the tour! One thing many visitors don’t realize is the scale of the markup — the official Last Supper ticket is €15 but the average guided tour costs $161, a 10.7x markup. It’s the highest of any European monument. The scarcity of only 1,720 daily visitors drives it. Still worth every penny though. — Mario Dalo, Intercoper
Glad you enjoyed your tour of The Last Supper.