In the end, we did get to see Il Cenacolo, Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Last Supper. An early visit to the ticket office, 7am for 8am, got me second spot in line and there were some tickets available for that afternoon. Number one in line was a local who goes early fairly often to buy tickets for visiting relatives and he was confident at 7am and successful at 8am. So keep that in mind, those who read this. You gain entry for a 15 minute session in the old refectory in a group of 25. Other than the Leonardo, there’s some explanatory material before and after your visit, and one large facing fresco, a Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano and some coat of arms lunettes and decorative frescoes that survived WW2 bombing. The Cenacolo was painted in tempera on gesso and has suffered over time. Best to see a photo to view the subject at its best, but it’s nice to be there. It’s faded but the structure and some details and faces are clear enough. So there’s some disappointment in the visit and a satisfaction as in scratching an itch. The quest for Leonardo’s paintings, somewhat a McGuffin and a minor amusement, continues.Il Cenacolo (the Last Supper) of Leonardo da Vinci is in the refectory attached to Santa Marie delle Grazie in Milan.
