Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

In the refectory of the former Dominican monastery is Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" (the Cenacolo Vinciano), his most famous work, painted on the wall in tempera between 1495 and 1497: a dramatic presentation of the scene which was quite novel and marked an important new stage in the development of art. The painting is much damaged from the flaking off of the paint and during the last decades has been restored several times, a process which will probably never be fully completed.

To the south of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, in Via San Vittore, stands the beautiful church of San Vittore al Corpo, an early Christian foundation, which was remodeled by Galeazzo Alessi in Late Renaissance style (1530 onwards), with a sumptuous Baroque interior.

The Leonarda da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology is housed in a former Olivetan monastery. The museum, opened in 1953, illustrates the history of science and technology down to modern times. Of particular interest are the Leonardo da Vinci Gallery; the department of physics, with apparatus used by Galileo, Newton and Volta and the departments of optics, acoustics, telegraphy, transport, shipping, railroads, flying, metallurgy, motor vehicles, clocks and watches, and timber. There is also a library and reading room (film presentations).

The church of Sant'Ambrogio east of the National Museum in Milan was founded in 386 by St Ambrose. The present church is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture (12th century; choir ninth century). Notable features of the interior are the pulpit, restored about 1200, with late Romanesque carving, and the casing (paliotto) of the high altar, a masterpiece of Carolingian art (made in 835 at either Milan or Rheims).

On the northwest side of Sant'Ambrogio are the Museo di Sant'Ambrogio and a monumental war memorial (1930). The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (del Sacro Cuore), adjoining the church on the southeast, was founded in 1921 and has two cloisters by Bramante.

In the former monastery, the Monastero Maggiore, is the Milan Archeological Museum, with Greek, Etruscan and Roman finds. Note the Buddha statue and the Roman sculptures on the ground floor, including one of Maximilian (third century), a bronze head and a female statue with folded drapes.