Milan, Italy

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I was excited once again to be travelling, and the first leg of this years European trip was in Milan. I decided to go to Italy once more, as I really love the atmosphere, and well, the history. Milan is a good starting point for me, as I will be traveling south this trip.

I arrive and get checked into the hotel. It was in a pretty nice part of town within minutes of the city center. After a little refresh, the first place I want to go is Duomo Cathedral. Seen it couple times before, however it really is a sight to see. Little history about the cathedral. The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete: construction began in 1386, and the final details were completed in 1965. It is the largest church in Italy—the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City, and the second largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.

On 20 May 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished by Pellicani. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral's façade was completed. Pellicani largely followed Buzzi's project, adding some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the spires. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.

A small red light bulb in the dome above the apse marks the spot where one of the nails reputedly from the Crucifixion of Christ has been placed. The Holy Nail is retrieved and exposed to the public every year, during a celebration known as the Rite of the Nivola.

As I was in Milan for a very short time, I decided I would take a tour of the city as I have before. I seem to always see new and exciting things the more I look around. Realistically, I booked this tour where I could see the Last Supper painting again. My thought is that if your paying the money anyway, you might as well take the city tour for you are guaranteed to see the painting this way as it sells out regularly.

The tour guides name was Pierre, and when he came to the group, I was like who is this guy. He was dressed kind of like a hippy, not that there is anything wrong with that. Actually, I thought he was pretty cool. Anyway, we did our tour around Milan seeing many wonderful sights with in depth explanation of the sight and area, and ended at Santa Maria delle Grazie, in which the Last Supper painting is located.

A few facts I learned about the Last Supper painting. The Last Supper measures 460 cm x 880 cm (180 in x 350 in) and covers an end wall of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The theme was a traditional one for refectories (dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools, and academic institutions), although the room was not a refectory at the time da Vinci painted it. The main church building was being completed (in 1498). The opposite wall of the refectory is covered by the Crucifixion fresco by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano.

Leonardo da Vinci worked on The Last Supper from about 1495 to 1498, but did not work continuously. The beginning date is not certain, as the archives of the convent for the period have been destroyed. A document dated 1497 indicates that the painting was nearly completed at that date. One story goes that a prior from the monastery complained to da Vinci about its delay, enraging him. He wrote to the head of the monastery, explaining he had been struggling to find the perfect villainous face for Judas, and that if he could not find a face corresponding with what he had in mind, he would use the features of the prior who had complained.

After the tour, the group was disbursed and I walked back towards the center of town. There was a fashion show happening, and I stood and watched for a little bit. I have heard of the Milan fashion shows, but I had never seen one until now. It was interesting to see, as the models would walk down the ramps with whatever clothes the designers had for them again and again. I knew I was departing early the next morning, so I decided I would call it a night.

Milan was a lot of fun once again, and tomorrows adventure would soon be upon me. Until next time Milan...

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