Hi! This is the Italian team and we live in Como, but we want to tell you about the most important city in

Lombardy: Milan.

In particular we will tell you about the Cathedral and Santa Maria delle Grazie’s Convent.

Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region.

Milan is known for art, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion,

healthcare, media, services, research and tourism.

Milan's museums, theatres and landmarks (including the Milan Cathedral, Sforza

Castle and Leonardo da Vinci’s painting such as The Last Supper, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site) attract over 9 million visitors per year.

“It is the first thing you look for when you rise in the morning, and the last your lingering gaze sets upon at night. It is surely the princeliest creation that brain ever conceived” - Mark Twain

As Mark Twain said, the Cathedral, also known as the “Duomo”, is the most important landmark in Milan.

The construction of the Cathedral began in 1386, and took over five centuries to be built. It was commissioned by Gian GaleazzoVisconti for two main reasons:

➔To build a new religious monument in the heart of Milan ➔To celebrate the ambitious politics of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (Milan’s ruler)

Gothic architecture is the most common architecture

of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and

churches of Europe.

Its characteristics include the pointed arch, the

ribbed vault and the flying buttress.

● The Visconti Era (1387-1477)

•G.Visconti (Lord of Milan) set up“La Veneranda Fabbrica del

Duomo” in order to design and supervise the building of the

cathedral.

• White with slight pink hue marble from Candoglia was the

main building material.

•A lot of architects, sculptors and workers from Central Europe

arrived in Milan attracted by the magnificence of the project .

● The Sforza Era (1450-1520)

• Nave and aisles were completed up to the sixth

bay.

• The octagonal cupola was completed.

• “Amadeo ‘s little Spire” was built

(Renaissance masterwork) .

• Beautiful stained glass windows were installed.

● The Borromeo Era (1560-1650)

• The Cathedral was influenced by the

Catholic Reformation and examples of this

are the “Quadroni “or large paintings of San

Carlo and the wooden choir.

• 17th-18th (1650-1800)

In 1762 one of the main features of the

cathedral, the Madonnina’s spire, was

erected at the dizzying height of 108,5 m.

At the top it was placed the famous

polychrome Madonnina statue which is

the symbol of Milan.

• 19th Century (1800-1900)

In this period the facade and the ornamental

elements were completed. It was Napoleon

Bonaparte who ordered the façade to be

finished ,as a form of thanksgiving ,a statue

of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of

the spire.

• In the Cathedral it is conserved a nail which comes from the Jesus’scross.

• The Cathedral is the fifth largest Christian church in the world.

• The Cathedral has 145 steeples that were built between XVIII and XIX.

• During WW2 the Madonnina was covered by some rags to not be bombed by the enemies

• Marble blocks used for the construction come from a little artificial lake.

• It’s the first Cathedral in the world with glass windows illuminated

from the inside.

• The church is located in the heart of Milan and is the home to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper

• In 1943 the church was bombed, most of the building was destroyed leaving only a few walls standing, the Cenacolo happened to be one of these

• In 1980 It was added to the World heritage list

Born on the 15th of April 1452 in Vinci , a village near Florence, and died on the 2nd of May of 1519.He was an Italian artist, engineer, architect and scientist.Leonardo began to work on the Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498.

The Last Supper is a late 15th-century mural painting by Leonardo Da Vinci in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Milan. It is one of the world's most famous paintings. The work is presumed to have been began around 1495-1496 .

• Leonardo’s study of acoustics lead him to depict the way sound travels, in fact the disciples sitting furthest away seem to have more problems understanding what is being said.

• Da Vinci chose to use a new technique known as the Fresco a “secco”. Sadly it was failure and because of that, there have been many problems in the conservation of the painting.

• Leonardo Da Vinci stuck a nail through the head of Jesus to help him measure the perspective, today you can still see the hole.

• A lot of care has been put into the various facial expressions of the disciples.

• They are divided in groups of three.