Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
though crammed with a collection of big ticket artworks, including Botticelli, Bellini and
the beautiful
Portrait of a Woman
by Pollaiuolo, these Sala d'Artista are exquisite works
of art in their own right.
CASTLE, MUSEUM
Castello Sforzesco
( 02 884 63 700;
www.milanocastello.it
; Piazza Castello; 7am-7pm summer, to 6pm winter;
Cairoli)
Originally a Visconti fortress, this iconic red-brick castle was later home to the
mighty Sforza dynasty who ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle's defences were designed
by the multitalented Leonardo da Vinci; Napoleon later drained the moat and removed the
drawbridges. Today it shelters seven specialised museums, which gather together in-
triguing fragments of Milan's cultural and civic history, Lombard Gothic masterpieces and
Michelangelo's final work, the shockingly modern,
Rondanini Pietà
.
6.30am-nightfall;
Cadorna, Cairoli)
is the green lung of the city landscaped with winding paths and
ornamental ponds, and overlooked by Giò Ponti's spindly, 1933
Torre Branca tower
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 02 331 41 20; lift €4; 9.30am-midnight Tue & Thu,
10.30am-12.30pm, 4-6.30pm & 9.30pm-midnight Wed, 2.30-6pm & 9.30pm-midnight Fri, 10.30am-2pm,
2.30-7.30pm & 9.30pm-midnight Sat & Sun May-mid-Oct, shorter hours in winter;
Cadorna)
.
The Last Supper
(Il Cenacolo Vinciano)
MURAL
( 02 8942 1146;
www.architettonicimilano.lombardia.beniculturali.it
; adult/reduced €6.50/3.25, booking
fee €1.50; Cadorna-Triennale)
Milan's most famous mural, Leonardo da Vinci's
The Last
Supper
(
Il Cenacolo
), is hidden away on a wall of the refectory adjoining the
Basilica di
8.30am-7pm Tue-Sun;
Conciliazione, Cadorna)
. Depicting Christ and his disciples at the dramatic moment
when Christ reveals he is aware of the betrayal afoot, it is a masterful psychological study
and one of the world's most iconic images.
Restoration of
Il Cenacolo
was completed in 1999 after more than 22 years' work. The
mural was in a lamentable state after centuries of damage. Da Vinci himself is partly to
blame: his experimental mix of oil and tempera was applied between 1495 and 1498,
rather than within a week as is typical of fresco techniques. The Dominicans didn't help
