Milan Leonardo da Vinci's Cenacolo

Milan Il Cenacolo

This famous painting, commenced by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1495 and completed in 1497, is considered one of the most significant art creations worldwide. The painting shows Jesus announcing to his twelve Apostles that one of them was going to betray him.

Da Vinci painted his masterpiece using strong tempera on a dry wall instead of a wet one; this is the reason why it begun to fade soon after its completion. In time, the fresco has undergone a number of restoration interventions, of which the most recent was begun in 1978 and finished in 1999. The work has made original pictorial excerpts re-emerge and has shown more of Da Vinci’s sense of color and drawing techniques. After the restoration, a sophisticated air filtering system was installed to impede the entry of dust, damp, vapor and polluting substances.

Text Courtesy of Welcome to Milan - By the Town Turist Office