My Trip In Italy (Part 1F): Milan - Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie & Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio

Leonardo da Vinci is undeniably one of the greatest and most influential artists to have ever lived, having created many masterpieces that are still renowned to this day. In this article, I’m sharing my experiences from when I visited Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo painted his famous artwork The Last Supper, as well as the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio (one of the oldest churches in Milan).

Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie (Church of Holy Mary of Grace)

Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza (who, as mentioned in Part 1D, also restored Sforza Castle) ordered the construction of this Dominican convent and church, and it was completed in 1469 after decades of building. Because it was built on the former site of a prior chapel dedicated to the Marian devotion of St. Mary of the Graces, it became known as the Church of Holy Mary of Grace.

The Last Supper was painted between 1495 and 1498 as a mural on the end wall of the refectory (dining hall) of the church. Eating in this dining hall must have been an honor. You could admire one of the most famous paintings in the world while you ate. The painting shows the moment Jesus tells his Twelve Apostles that one of them will betray him. It is well known for showing the dynamic expressions and emotions of each disciple. The painting also shows the institution of the Eucharist, with Jesus blessing the bread and wine and foreshadowing his sacrifice. The fresco is 4.6 meters high and 8.8 meters wide. It is a particularly large artwork.

When I first looked at the painting, I couldn’t help but notice the doorway cut into the middle, which destroyed Jesus’s feet and a portion of the table. This made me wonder: why would the monks do something so damaging? To answer that, we have to look at how it was painted.

While creating The Last Supper, Leonardo utilized a disastrous technique known as fresco secco, a major deviation from traditional fresco methods.

Typically, artists use buon fresco. This method involves water-based pigments painted onto fresh, wet lime plaster. The pigments are made of only water and pure mineral powders, with no added binders. A major advantage is that the painting is very durable, as the pigments become part of the wall through chemical bonding as it dries. However, buon fresco needs immense speed, precision, and planning. Artists have roughly six to eight hours to finish a section before the plaster dries.

For Leonardo da Vinci, buon fresco didn’t really fit his style, as he liked to be slow and deliberate with his colors and often blended tones to refine the detail of his paintings. So when he started to paint The Last Supper, he chose to experiment with the rather unconventional fresco secco technique instead. This was basically the complete opposite of buon fresco, as it involved painting oil-based pigments on dry plaster. It offered the artist much more control over the pace at which they painted, and allowed Leonardo to layer colors and create a visually stunning masterpiece that had depth, perspective, as well as detail.

However, just two decades after it was painted in the church, the colors and pigments started flaking off. It turns out, his ‘experiment’ was a complete disaster, and the painting was deteriorating quickly. The Last Supper is a great example not only of the advantages but also the drawbacks of the fresco secco technique - because the pigments weren’t chemically bonded to the plaster, it would easily lift off with humidity and mildew.

And that brings us back to why a doorway was cut directly into the center of this masterpiece. Although we don’t know exactly who did it, art historians speculate that this stupid move was done sometime in the 17th century. Because the artwork wasn’t quite as valued back then to the monks, it didn’t make sense to sacrifice their own convenience for the sake of this painting. A partial reason why The Last Supper had become basically worthless was that it was in a very catastrophic state, thanks to the fresco secco technique Leonardo had used, though the monks certainly didn’t have much artistic taste either. Sadly, we will never be able to see the ‘full picture’ of Leonardo’s vision.

Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio (Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio)

Known for being one of the most ancient churches in Milan, this basilica was commissioned by St. Ambrose (Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397) in the 4th century AD. It was built in an area where several martyrs of Roman persecutions had been buried, which contributed to the original naming of the church as Basilica Martyrum.

At first, I thought that I had misread the description of the basilica. Only upon closer inspection did I realize that it was really more than 1600 years old! I was astounded time and time again that everything in Milan was so mind-boggling ancient.

Just outside the basilica is an ancient Roman marble column, called the Colonna del Diavolo (Devil’s Column). It was originally part of the Roman imperial palace in Milan, which was built by Emperor Maximian in the late 3rd century. But it’s best known for the two marks found on it, part of one of the oldest and most famous Milanese myths. According to the legend, the Devil had a fight with Saint Ambrose. Unable to overcome the virtue of the saint, the Devil punctured the column with his horns in a fit of rage, leaving the indentations we can see today. Whether the myth is true or not, I don’t know, but it surely is an intriguing story.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed today’s article on the Church of Holy Mary of Grace, Leonardo’s The Last Supper, Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, as well as the Devil’s Column. Next week, I’m going to share some thoughts on the renowned Milanese tram system as well as Milano Centrale (the main railway station of the city).

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