Milano, Santa Maria delle Grazie

In the 15th century a group of Dominican friars from Pavia, were looking for a place to settle in the city of Prince Francesco. Gaspare Vimercati, commander of the French troops of Francesco Sforza, offered an area and, in 1463, the Dominican friars commissioned architect Guiniforte Solari (Milan, 1429-1481) to build a church and convent in this area. With an original Gothic-Lombard plan, the church underwent a radical transformation when, in 1492, Ludovico il Moro decided to modernise it. Bramante (Pesaro, 1444 - Roma, 1514) was commissioned the project; he destroyed the presbytery and the apse, enlarged the temple crowning it with the grandiose Renaissance tribune and added the wonderful small cloister and the new sacristy. After the fall of the Moor, the Dominican friars continued to embellish the church.
Outside, the church has two different bodies: a frontal part made by Solari with a tribune in the back. The gabled façade is covered by plain brickwork and is crossed by oeil-de-boeufs that accompany the small arched frame of the ceiling. In the middle, the marble portal with small loggias can be admired, first sign of the grandiosity wanted by Ludovico il Moro, and generally attributed to Bramante. The solemn Renaissance tribune has three apses and rises at the end of the side. The high polygonal dome surmounts it. The interior has 3 naves with lateral chapels and square plan. Impressive frescoed decorations ornate the bordered cross vaults. The passage from the Gothic-style church to the immense Renaissance tiburio (external cylindrical or prismatic dome covering) is also very impressive. Between the last chapel and the presbytery, on the left, the Our Lady of Grace Chapel can be seen: it is an original structure of this complex, built by Count Gaspare Vimercati, from which the church took the name. A pre-Leonardo tempera is on the 7th century altar depicting "Our Lady of Grace" (the Virgin protecting the family of Count Vimercati under her mantle) from the Lombard school of the 1400s. This painting was often worshipped during the plague in 1576 and in 1630 (as mentioned by Manzoni). Gaudenzio Ferrari (Valduggia, 1475 - Milan, 1546), an artist influenced by German art Leonardo, is present in the fourth right chapel with frescoes depicting "Stories of the Passion" with a vivid narrative style. The small cloister can be accessed from a door on the left of the presbytery. Designed by Bramante for the Moor, it is made of a small square courtyard surrounded, on the four sides, by arcades resting on columns with Renaissance capitals. The old sacristy, also by Bramante, is reached from the cloister. It is a large barrel vaulted rectangular hall decorated with a blue background with golden stars, reminiscent of Leonardo's style. Engraved cabinets are placed along the walls, which are painted with ?Episodes of the New and Old Testament" from the 15th century. Exiting the church, one of the most famous places in the world can be visited on the right of the square, the Cenacolo Vinciano. The dining hall created by Solari can be seen from the 8th century atrium on the right and it hosts the famous Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci at the back of its shorter side. This painting was commissioned by Ludovico the Moor 1495 (Leonardo arrived in Milan in the summer of 1482). Wanting to experiment new techniques, Leonardo painted two layers of plaster with strong temperas, not with oil as one would have imagined, making it possible to take long breaks during the execution, improbable in fresco painting. The painting depicts Jesus announcing the betrayal of one of his disciples. Unfortunately due to the technique used and the dampness of the environment, this painting began to deteriorate immediately and it has undergone constant restoration interventions through the centuries.