Tourists who visited Milan during the Winter Olympics hoping to see Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper were in for an unwelcome surprise: access to the masterpiece was closed to the public for three and a half days last week.
Painted by the Italian Renaissance master between 1494 and 1498, the revered work is housed within the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a church and Dominican convent still used by friars. It remains a significant draw for art lovers and devout Catholics alike.
Tourists stuck at the police cordon were left disappointed. Antonio Rodríguez, who travelled from Spain with friends, said they would have no other chance to see the painting or the adjacent church since they only travelled for the weekend.
“We didn’t know we would face this,” said Mr Rodríguez, adding he had no plans to attend events related to the Games. “We would have gone somewhere else in the city.”
A sign on the wall outside Il Cenacolo Vinciano stated that access to the landmark would be closed all day on 5, 6 and 7 February, and the morning of 8, without giving any reason.
Staff there told a reporter from the Associated Press they were not authorised to provide any information.
VIPs still allowed in on Saturday
Unbeknownst to frustrated visitors, multiple groups of VIPs were exempt from the restrictions on Saturday.
Among them were US vice-president JD Vance and his family, according to a statement from the vice-president’s office. They visited the morning after he met Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and attended the Games’ opening ceremony.
Mr Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019, which he has said brought him a sense of spiritual fulfilment. He visited Rome and Vatican City during Holy Week last year, and was among the last world leaders to meet Pope Francis before his passing. They sat down together on Easter Sunday last year after a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration’s migrant deportation plans.
In addition to Mr Vance, many foreign delegations have visited The Last Supper and the Brera Art Gallery in recent days, including those of China, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, Angelo Crespi, the director of Grande Brera that oversees both institutions, said in a statement.
“We interpret our role responsibly, not only in terms of tourism but also in terms of international relations,” he said.
Traffic in the area surrounding the religious site on Saturday was diverted. People walking along nearby streets said public transportation was disrupted, as well.
“The trams were changed without any notice,” said Fedeli Gioia. “This whole area is blocked because someone is going to see Il Cenacolo? And where does that leave us citizens?”
A painting that has survived for centuries
The Last Supper – described by renowned writer Giorgio Vasari as “a beautiful and marvellous thing” in his writings – is preserved under strict conservation conditions.
Instead of creating a fresco that would have allowed the paint to be absorbed by plaster, Leonardo used a dry technique that made it much more vulnerable to deterioration. Environmental damage and repeated restoration attempts altered its appearance and prompted ongoing conservation efforts.
Nowadays, visits last about 15 minutes for a maximum number of 40 people at a time and temperature and humidity are strictly controlled.
Da Vinci’s painting depicts the moment after Jesus tells his apostles: “One of you will betray me.” The scene’s composition has had other interpretations by previous artists, but Da Vinci reinterpreted it, placing Jesus at the centre and arranging the apostles in four groups of three figures.
Aside from conservation issues derived from the dry technique used by Da Vinci, the mural suffered deterioration when the refectory housing it was used as a stable in the late 1700s during the French occupation of Milan by Napoleon’s troops. Later, it was severely damaged when Allied bombing struck the Santa Maria delle Grazie complex in 1943 during the Second World War.
It made a controversial appearance, of sorts, in the Paris Olympics in 2024. A scene in the opening ceremony evoked the painting, and included DJ Barbara Butch – an LGBT+ icon – wearing a silver headdress resembling a halo while flanked by drag artists and dancers.
France’s Catholic bishops said it mocked Christian symbolism, and the Vatican said it “deplored the offense” caused to Christians by the scene.
Tourists watch from afar
A group of Japanese tourists were among the would-be visitors behind the police cordon on Saturday. They photographed the church from a distance and listened to a guide’s explanation in the middle of the street.
Luisa Castro, a Filipina who has lived in Milan for 20 years, was hoping to visit Santa Maria delle Grazie with friends.
“We are Catholics from the Philippines and we seldom have time to visit a church like this,” she said. “Unfortunately, the vice-president of America came to see The Last Supper and we could not enter.”
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