Tuesday was by far one of the best day's I've had so far in Milan. After my morning duties I met up with Lizzy for a run in the park. Although it was pretty cold the sun was out and it was the perfect weather for a run! After showering we met up again and walked down to the San Augustino market to meet up with Meghan, Laura, and Britney. This was actually my first time going to a market in Milan! I absolutely loved it...pretty much anything you could want to buy was available at the market for cheap prices! Food, clothing, random cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils, and a variation of other random items. After some major browsing and a couple great purchases later (a cute hate and cardigan which I've already gotten tons of use out of) we were starving and decided to head back up near Cattolica for lunch. We grabbed foccachias and paninos at Pane e Vita (even though its a chain and there is one across the street from my house this one had way more lunch selection and it was great...and cheap!) Our next stop was the crepe place that some of the girls had been eyeing on a daily basis...it is literally nutella heaven. I have never seen such huge jars of nutella in my life!
After desert and some more chatting we decided to wander somewhere else since Laura, Britney, Meghan and I were still free for a few hours (unfortunately Lizzy had to go pick up her kids). Meghan casually suggested that we check out Santa Maria delle Gratzie to see if there were any openings to see Leonardo's "The Last Supper." We walked in and were immediately disappointed by all the "sold out" signs, however once we actually asked we were pleasantly surprised that they had some cancellations! The four of us were able to get in at 2:30!
The back hall of the church is where the frescos are located. To get there you have to go through about 4 sets of secured doors that only open one at a time...resulting in me actually getting stuck and separated from my friends for a few minutes! The main purpose for these doors is to keep the painting in a climate controlled environment, as frustrating as they were it was good to finally see some preservation in action! After fighting through the rest of these annoying doors we finally made it into the dining hall of the church. Il Cenocolo (The Last Supper) takes up the entire back wall of the dining hall and is really remarkable to see in person. It was completed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1498 and depicts the last supper before Christ's crucifixion when he announces that one of them will betray him. The painting has become much more famous over the last few years especially with Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code in which Brown uses a theory about the painting (that the figure commonly thought to be John, sitting to Jesus' right is actually Mary Magdalene) as a major theme in his book. In fact, this painting is one of the biggest attractions in Milan so we were extremely fortunate to be able to just walk in!
Across from Il Cenocolo is another fresco, "The Crucifixion" by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano. This fresco depicts the actual Crucifixion of Christ and was actually painted at the same time as the Last Supper. After leaving the dining hall where the frescos were located we waited outside for the rest of the actual church to open up. While waiting we were all accosted by a homeless man who kept asking us for money, "Dime Monita!" when we walked away he kept muttering "Morti, Morti" (die, die). After that lovely episode we moved inside the church which was absolutely gorgeous. The high ceilings, domes, and many altars provide so much visual interest. I am always amazed when I enter these incredible Italian churches, not just because they are so historic and beautiful, but because they are continuing to function on a daily basis. They still serve their original function hundreds of years later and inspire people daily.
After picking Bea up from the bus (and calming her down...her brother was at the doctors and not on the bus so she couldn't find him!) we finished her homework and everything else for the afternoon. After dinner I headed down Corso Magenta to Colonial Cafe for Amelia's birthday party. It was a small intimate group, and it was nice to catch up with some friends. Even though I was only in Germany for a few days I felt like I'd been gone forever!
A fantastic day in Milano!
Ciao!
xoxo
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