Corner La Trin: Historical Milan

The statue of Da Vinci stood boldly in the Piazza de Scala. He had a long beard and was sculpted in a position that gave the impression that he was deep in thought. Below him, four of his students were sculpted holding different objects that symbolized different subjects that Da Vinci excelled in. The statue was surrounded by trees shading tourists from many different nationalities. It really was a sight to be seen.

We left the square and headed to "The Last Supper" , a mural by Leonardo da Vinci. We had to book our tickets more than 3 months ago otherwise we wouldn't have gotten in. I looked at the history of the mural. It was a miracle surviver. The room in which the mural had been painted, had been bombed during WW11. Two walls in the room and of course the roof had been completely destroyed, but the two walls with murals on them, one by Da Vinci and one by another local painter, had survived. Truly miraculous.

The tour guide took us into the hall where the murals were located. We first viewed The Last Supper. The tour guide was explaining that da Vinci painted the mural depicting the moment when Jesus told the Apostles that one of them was going to betray him. It showed how Peter, the aggressive Apostle, was holding a knife as he asked John, the youngest and most delicate, if he was the one who was going to betray Jesus. It showed Judas, holding his money bag as payment for betraying Jesus. They were in groups of three, six Apostles on either side of Jesus. In their groups of three, they were huddled close together and discussing anxiously about who the traitor was. It displayed a lot of emotions.

On the other side of the room was another mural, painted by a local Milanese artist. This one was about the Crucifixion. It showed Jesus's pain as he hung on the cross. It showed the peoples fear for him. It had a lot of vibrant colours. You could really imagine being there. Too bad we weren't allowed to take any pictures. The mural of "The Last Supper" is truly outstanding and indeed a masterpiece.

After we finished at the murals, we headed to the Basilica Di Sant'Ambrogio. The Basilica is more than 1600 years old! We explored there for a long time. There were lots of things to see. The statues and the roof, the arches and the architecture. There were even the skeletons of St. Ambrose and two martyrs on display. Lots of people kneeled down and prayed in front of the skeletons. Ooooooooohh. It was cool however.

After the Basilica, we walked around Milan and explored more of the ancient sites. Milan is indeed a very 'old' city, full of history.

Eventually we headed back to the hotel. We settled in for the night, and let sleep embrace us with her caressing fingers.

Statue of Leonardo Da Vinci