Milan City Tour

Initiate power tour. There is one “must do” on our list in Milan – to see The Last Supper. It requires tickets in advance and, by the time we booked, those were only available as part of a tour package. Not a huge hassle as the tour covers a few other things worth checking out, but the fixed time means we must schedule the rest of our day around it. So, as warm and comfy as we are in our bed, we hustle out into the cold (it is low 50s and overcast) to make our way back to Sforzesco Castle. We did a quick walk through of the place last night, but there are two exhibits we are interested in that we need to go inside for.

The first is a room called the Sala delle Asse (the Room of Wooden Boards, although that has very little to do with the story). In 1498, the Duke of Milan commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to decorate the room, which he did using trees, interconnected branches, leaves, and berries to evoke the feeling of standing outside, underneath canopy of mulberry trees. It is a little difficult to visualize, and the size of the room and condition of the frescos make it hard to capture in pictures, but standing in the room, looking up, it is the kind of thing you feel, not just see.

Over the years, as controlled of Milan passed through many hands, Sforzesco Castle was used primarily for military purposes. During that time, rooms like the Sala delle Asse were coated in think layers of white lime, and the original artworks were lost from memory. When Italy was finally unified in the 1860s, the castle was in such disrepair that it was slated for demolition and the land reclaimed for housing projects. It escaped that fate, of course (or this would be a very short post), and we have one more priceless memory as a result.

As part of the celebrations tied to the 500 year anniversary of da Vinci’s death, there is a multimedia show where they project, in 360 degrees, how the work was done, the various restoration efforts, and how it would have all looked back in da Vinci’s day. Quite well done, although it means they move you along fairly quickly to make room for the next group in line.

You have to look close, but in the first picture below you can see the original sketches da Vinci made on the walls in preparation for painting and, below that, a living replica in the courtyard where they are shaping mulberry trees to recreate da Vinci’s original vision.

Not to be out-turtled, tucked way in a gallery that you’d probably miss if you weren’t looking for it, is the Rondanini Pietà (not to be confused with his original Pietà in the Vatican), Michelangelo’s last work prior to his death. It is unfinished and still bears the marks of places where he changed his mind along the way so by no means one of his famous works, where can you stand all by yourself, a foot away from the handiwork of one of the greatest artists of all time.

There are plenty of other things to take in at the castle but, like many of the museums here, you can’t possibly stop and see it all.

We’re running late for our tour but, fortunately, near the meeting point is a place called Luini, where there is a line out the door to buy panzerotti – quick and cheap eats you can scarf down on the go. Turns out this is a famous place for the locals as well, and when we pass by again later in the evening, it is still rolling in the dough (I didn’t just stoop that low, did I?).

Our tour starts at the Duomo – yes, another church. With a guide though we learn some interesting things like:

We have to come back on our own to visit the inside but are suffering from OCD (over-churched disorder) so by no means do it justice. It is crazy huge and, with of breeze, you could probably fly a kite inside.

Finally, the cherry on top – a fitting metaphor as it takes us back by Chocolat for gelato – The Last Supper. I admit, I figured this was in another museum somewhere but not so. It was originally painted on the dining room wall of a Dominican convent and there it remains (despite the building being bombed). The upside is there is really nothing else there to compete for your attention. Like the Sala delle Asse, they move you along in boot camp fashion so no matter the effort to get here, 15 minutes is all you get.

I could go on for quite awhile but consider this 4,000 words:

Not a bad day.