Today was our last day in Italy. Even though we still can only say about 10 words in the language, we have felt surprisingly at home here. We had booked a tour of Milan before we left Los Angeles because this is usually the only way to get in to see the Da Vinci Last Supper. We had a fine guide who spoke excellent English. She walked us first over to the cathedral. She explained that there had been a ancient Roman basilica on this site, but this building had been torn down for the current cathedral. She pointed out the lines on the pavement where the baptistry of the old cathedral had been. I had to place myself on the very spot where Saint Ambrose had baptized Saint Augustine on Holy Saturday in 387 AD. I am sure that I am the only person on that square who cared about that.
Our guide pointed out the bronze portals of the cathedral. Although done in a gothic style, the doors are quite new. Oddly, the Milanese believe that rubbing the legs of Jesus or his Roman tormentors brings good luck.
Milan's Duomo is one of the largest churches in the world.
Unlike many of Italy’s Renaissance or Baroque churches, there is an abundance of stained glass in the cathedral. Some of it is original, while much of it are nineteenth century restorations and replacements.
Although the white marble is quite stunning, it discolors easily and the cathedral needs constant renovation. Milan is preparing for a big exposition next year, and there were half a dozen cranes inside the cathedral scrubbing the stone back to its original color.
The highlight of the cathedral is this statue of Saint Bartholomew by Marco d’Agrate. This apostle had supposedly suffered martyrdom by being skinned alive by the Armenians. The statue, which utterly repulsed Mark Train, shows him with only a small flap of skin. The detail of the musculature is astonishing.
There was a lot of other weird stuff in the Duomo. The signs of the Zodiac are in the pavement by the west entrance, and the light from a hole in the ceiling shines on the current sign. Above the high altar, near the ceiling, in something that looks vaguely like a pillow, hangs Milan’s most famous relic, one of the nails that that pieced Jesus’s hands or feet. I have my doubts about that one. And the strangest thing of all has to be the cathedral gift shop in this plexiglass space ship.
From the Duomo we went over to the Galleria. Versace is paying to have the famous structure cleaned and restored, and the city decided to expel one of its tenants, McDonalds, because it was not the right kind of store for the Galleria. McDonalds sued for breach of contract and received a prime space just outside the historic arcade.
One of the tenants allowed to stay is the Campari shop. This has been here ever since it opened and the drink was invented here.
There are mosaics on the floor dealing with Milan and Italian history The coat of arms of the city of Torino is there because for a while it was Italy’s capital. It’s emblem is a bull. There is a belief that if you put your heel on the bull’s privates and spin around three times you will have good luck. Hundreds of tourists do this daily. As a result, there is a big hold in the floor that has to be repaired frequently.
Our guide then took us over to the Teatro della Scala. She admitted she had never been to an opera there because it was so expensive. Another American couple on our trip had been there the night before and had paid nearly 400 dollars each for tickets. They were so jealous when they learned we had spent one tenth of that amount - and we had a better view of the stage!
We continued on to Milan’s Castle. The guide gave us a lot of background about this structure, but it really was not particularly interesting to look at even if a lot of battles had been fought there. I think she was trying to fill up time until our appointment to see the Da Vinci painting.
Last supper is at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The church is supposedly interesting, but since it was close to lunch time it was closed. We walked around the outside.
The church was originally a Dominican monastery, and Da Vinci painted his masterpiece in their refectory or dining hall. It is not a real fresco because it was painted on dry plaster instead of wet plaster. This makes is less durable, and the painting has been deteriorating from the time he finished it. It has been carefully restored, and the dining hall is now carefully climate controlled and only a handful of visitors are allowed in at a time.
It is strictly forbidden to take pictures there. Given the fragile state of the painting and the problems people seem to have turning the flash off, that makes sense. John took a couple pictures of some reproductions.
Once we were done with the Last Supper, we went back to the hotel and picked up our luggage. We took a cab to the airport.
We had a two hour flight from Milan to London. At Heathrow, our friends Vicki and Jerry met us and took us back to their house in Brentford. This is my birthday and they had a special birthday apricot tart for me. It was delicious!
