Milan / The Last Supper
Art
The Last Supper
Fifteen minutes in a quiet room with the most famous fresco never actually painted as a fresco.
- Price
- €15 plus booking fee
- Hours
- Tue–Sun, roughly 8am–7pm, closed Mon
- Avg. visit
- 15 minutes inside the refectory
- Book ahead
- Essential — weeks to months in advance
Leonardo painted the work on the refectory wall of the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie between 1495 and 1498, commissioned by Ludovico Sforza. Rather than use true fresco technique, which required painting quickly onto wet plaster, Leonardo experimented with a tempera and oil mixture applied to dry plaster — a method that let him work slowly and revise, but that began flaking within his own lifetime.
What survives today is the result of a meticulous restoration completed in 1999, which took nearly twenty years and removed centuries of overpainting and earlier, damaging restoration attempts. The refectory itself, part of a UNESCO World Heritage church complex, narrowly survived Allied bombing in 1943 that destroyed much of the surrounding cloister.
Inside
What to see
- The fresco itself, capturing the instant Christ tells the apostles one of them will betray him
- The reactions of the twelve apostles, grouped in threes, each responding differently to the announcement
- The Crucifixion by Donato Montorfano on the opposite wall, painted a decade earlier in true fresco
- The climate-controlled decompression chambers visitors pass through before entering, part of the conservation system
Practical
Good to know
- Photography is not permitted inside the refectory, and phones must generally be silenced or stowed.
- Groups are capped at around 25 people and admitted every fifteen minutes on a strict schedule — arrive on time, not early.
- Tickets are released in batches months ahead and sell out almost immediately; official tickets and licensed guided-tour allocations are the two realistic routes in.
Timing
When it's busiest
- First slot
- Quiet
- Midday slots
- Busy
- Afternoon
- Busy
- Every slot
- Fully booked in season
Nearby
Combine your visit
15-minute walk
Castello Sforzesco & Parco Sempione
The Sforza fortress and its museums make a natural next stop on the same side of town.
Visit →
20-minute walk or short metro ride
Duomo di Milano
Head back toward the centre for the cathedral and its rooftop terraces.
Visit →
Short metro ride
Navigli
Save the canal district for the evening after a day spent among Leonardo's Milan.
Visit →
FAQ
Common questions
How far ahead should I book?
As early as tickets are released — official booking windows open around three months out and popular dates sell out within hours.
Can I just turn up?
Almost never successfully, especially in high season. Same-day availability is rare to nonexistent.
Can I take photos?
No — photography is prohibited inside the refectory to protect the fragile painting.
Is it worth the effort to book?
Most visitors say yes. It's a short visit, but standing in front of the actual wall Leonardo painted is different from any reproduction.