Absolutely the highlight of our Milan tour was the viewing of Leonard da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” We have all seen countless reproductions of the image but to see the painting in person is truly breathtaking. Up close the colors look quite faded and subtle, but the further back you stand, the colors become more and more vivid, and you can see the true perspective of the piece. What was miraculous was that the building housing the Last Supper was bombed during the Second World War but the painting was spared amid the rubble.

The Last Supper is not a fresco in which paint is applied to a wet wall. Da Vinci used tempera which already started to deteriorate within a few years. This masterpiece took four years to complete and the different expressions and emotions shown by each of the twelve apostles was previously not done before. Other artists painted apostles which were essentially clones.

We succumbed to the gift shop at the end and purchased a Last Supper shopping bag and a lens cloth!