Last Supper - Santa Maria delle Grazie
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The church and Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Holy Mary of Grace) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Milan. It’s not only a stunning combination of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, but its refectory is home to one of the world’s most famous paintings. Booking entrance tickets to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci or a guided tour with skip-the-line access will assure you get to see not just one of Milan’s most popular attractions but also one of the most famous paintings in the world!
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Book tickets get Skip-the-Line-access to Da Vinci’s Last Supper.
Milan: Last Supper Guided Tour
4.7
(843)
(843)See Da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” in Milan’s church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Get a brief introduction to an Italian masterpiece of the Renaissance, and enjoy at least 15 minutes to appreciate it at its best.
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Da Vinci’s Last Supper Ticket and Tour
4.5(672)
(672)Admire Leonardo da Vinci's iconic Last Supper with entry to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Learn about Italian Renaissance art and this painting in particular before having 15 minutes to marvel at the masterpiece.
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Da Vinci's Last Supper Skip-the-Line Ticket and Guided Tour
4.5(4593)
(4593)See one of the great masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance with a skip-the-line entry ticket to the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Learn more about Da Vinci's mural of The Last Supper from an English-speaking guide.
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Milan: Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper Tickets & Tour
4.3(907)
(907)Skip the lines and let your guide take you inside the old refectory of an ancient monastery where you can admire the Last Supper painting for 15 minutes. Learn all about the incredible history behind it.
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Combine your trip to see The Last Supper with a guided tour of Milan.Milan: Half-Day History Tour & The Last Supper Ticket
4.8(2172)
(2172)Skip the long lines to see Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and enjoy a historical tour of Milan. Discover the world’s most famous Renaissance mural, and admire miraculous architecture such as the Duomo.
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Milan: Walking Tour of the City Center & Last Supper
4.5(1435)
(1435)Make the most of the city by learning about its greatest artistic achievements. See the Duomo's stunning exterior, skip the lines to visit Leonardo's Last Supper, and explore the Sforza Castle gardens.
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Last Supper, Milan's Sistine Chapel & Sforza Castle Tour
4.7(773)
(773)Discover the Renaissance treasures of Milan and get skip-the-line entry to Da Vinci's magnificent mural of "The Last Supper" at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Learn about the powerful dukes of Milan at Sforza Castle and more.
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Milan Art Tour and Last Supper
4.7(646)
(646)See the hidden sights of Milan on a 2-hour walking tour that also includes skip-the-line entrance to the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie to see da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” Marvel at frescoes in secret churches, see the “finger” by Cattelan, and more.
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6 Tips for Visiting the Last Supper - Santa Maria delle Grazie
Leonardo Da Vinci: The Last Supper
1
Only 30 people are allowed to see the painting at a time and time slots are 15 minutes long - those two factors mean that the number of available Last Supper tickets is seriously limited. Basic tickets sell out on the official page months in advance, usually snapped up by tour companies, so if you’re determined to buy direct then you’ll have to watch the website like a hawk so that you don’t miss out.
Santa Maria delle Grazie | Photo: Flickr, Davide Oliva - CC BY-SA 2.0
2
If regular tickets are sold out then you can likely still find a way to see the Last Supper last-minute by visiting with a guided tour. That way you won’t miss out, and you’ll have an expert with you who can answer all your questions! If you decide not to take a guided tour, make sure you research the history and symbolism of the painting before you go so you can fully enjoy your time with the painting.
3
Make sure you show up at Santa Maria delle Grazie 10 minutes before your time slot because there’s no guarantee that you’ll be allowed in if you’re late.
4
You should plan about 45 minutes for your visit. You’ll have to wait until your time slot, then you’ll be taken into a room with historical information about the painting, and then you’ll have 15 minutes in the presence of the artwork. If you’re taking a guided tour to see the Last Supper, your guide might spend more time giving you details and answering questions before and after.
5
You are allowed to take photographs of the painting, but only without flash. Staff are extremely strict on this point so check your camera settings before taking a shot!
6
The Last Supper isn’t the only artwork on display - on the opposite wall is the Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato. It’s a much less famous work by a much less famous painter, but it’s still an impressive example of an (actual) Renaissance fresco. It might also give you a good idea about why The Last Supper was considered to be such a masterpiece.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s so special about The Last Supper?
The Last Supper is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most iconic works and is generally accepted to be a masterpiece of the ‘Western canon’ of art history. You’ll definitely recognize it, whether from history textbooks or one of the huge number of interpretations or parodies - everyone from Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol to the Simpsons has made their own version. You may also remember it from The Da Vinci Code (the book or the film), and you might even recall some of the alleged symbolism hidden in the painting that caused controversy and sparked conspiracy theories.
Is it a fresco? What is a fresco?
Although it’s often described as a fresco (because it’s painted on a wall), The Last Supper isn’t one. Traditional frescos are painted by adding water and pigment to wet plaster so that when it dries the painting is part of the wall. The problem for Leonardo da Vinci was that traditional fresco painting doesn’t allow the artist to alter the painting as they work - once the plaster is dry then you’re left with what’s on the wall. Instead, da Vinci decided to seal the stone wall with a double layer of plaster, before adding a white lead undercoat. Then he painted using oil and tempera, which meant he could work slowly and develop the lighting and shadows which are a key part of his style. It made for a beautiful creation, but one which is much harder to preserve than traditional frescos.
What will I see?
The painting shows the moment at the Last Supper when Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him, and the expressions on the faces of the other men reveal their shock and anger at the news. Look out for Judas Iscariot, his face turned away from the viewer and in shadow, clutching a bag in his hand that might contain the silver pieces he was paid to betray Christ, knocking over a bowl of salt with his elbow. Meanwhile, Jesus sits with a tragic expression in the center, his hands reaching for the bread and wine that will make up the first Holy Communion. Essays and dissertations could be written about the position and expression of each figure (and plenty have been!), but it’s the impression of the central characters which will stay with you.
Why can we only spend 15 minutes with the painting?
The Last Supper is extremely fragile and is kept in a small, windowless room so that the climate can be exactly controlled to prevent any further damage. As a result, only 30 people can see the painting at once, and in order to accommodate the hundreds of visitors who want to see it daily, the time in the presence of the painting is restricted to 15 minutes.
How has the painting been preserved?
The painting in the UNESCO listed church was completed in the 1490s, but damage was already being reported in 1517 and by 1556 it was being described as “ruined” by Giorgio Vasari. A doorway was cut through the wall in 1652, which was later closed with bricks, and in the 1760s a curtain hung to protect the painting only made things worse by trapping moisture on the surface. The first restoration attempt was in 1726 when Michelangelo Belotti filled in missing sections with oil paint before varnishing the whole wall. From then on, restorations only seemed to do more damage. In 1821 an expert in removing frescoes attempted to move the painting - he managed to damage the center of it considerably before realizing it wasn’t a fresco at all and trying to reattach the damaged parts with glue. The painting was lucky to survive World War II - if it weren’t for extensive sandbagging and protective scaffolding then it might have been destroyed along with a substantial part of the rest of the building. The most recent restoration took 21 years, finishing in 1999, and it tried to clean the painting, undo some of the earlier restoration attempts, and repaint some areas. Where possible the team used scientific tests to determine what the original painting was like, and where they couldn’t determine what used to exist in a spot they decided to paint it in muted watercolors rather than invent something. How well this was done and whether the work still looks like the original is a matter of debate among art historians.
General Information
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Address
Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie 2
20123 Milan
Italy
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