Aug 18 - Milan

 Aug 18 - Milan

Not a busy day today as it didn’t stop raining, however it was pretty special nevertheless as we went to see ‘The Last Supper’ by Da Vinci.  I’d screwed up originally by leaving it too late to book tickets, however, JEM managed to get some on a “We can charge what we like as you stuffed up and you’re only going to come here once!” website!  That aside it was absolutely worth every penny we paid and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! It was fantastic, and what a surprise, for me anyway, this painting is heaps bigger than I ever imagined. For some reason I thought it was only about 2 or 3 metres across, but it’s nearly 9 across and over 4 metres in height.  Although drastically faded, it’s a painting and not a fresco, our guide talked us through Leonardo’s detail, the handling of space, and his mastery of perspective, it’s just fantastic and a recommendation to anyone coming to Milan (apparently there’s a old copy at the Royal Academy of Art in London that hasn’t faded, so that must be worth a visit!)


Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano 

(on the opposite wall to ‘The Last Supper’)

After seeing ‘The Last Supper’ we paid a visit to the church that’s connected to the Dominican convent housing the painting, the Santa Maria delle Grazie ("Holy Mary of Grace").  Built in the 1400’s by the Duke of Milan, Francesco Sforza, with its interesting architecture, beautiful murals and nicely decorated vaulted ceiling this Unesco listed church was absolutely worth the trip on its own. 


P.S Tomorrow we’re off for a few nights to a little cottage up near Lake Como. Due to the location the wifi might be a bit iffy so I may not be able to post for a couple of days. 

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