Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus Combo Pass Milan
Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus Combo Pass Milan
Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" (1495-97) is one of the most famous paintings in the world, but what many people don't realize is that the refectory wall on which Leonardo's masterpiece is painted is part of a much larger complex: the former Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The Renaissance church was partially rebuilt by Leonardo's colleague, Donato Bramante, to house the tombs of Duke Ludovico Sforza and his family. The great Lombard architect constructed the Tribune, the serene Chiostrino delle Rane ("Frog Cloister," named after the bronze frogs on the fountain) and the Sacristy. Bramante's frescoed and vaulted Sacristy has now been restored as an exhibition space and here, in homage to the extraordinary genius of Leonardo da Vinci, a changing selection of pages from the Codex Atlanticus is on display.
No longer bound as a book, but still referred to by their former name, Codex, the 1,119 individual sheets of parchment were executed by Leonardo between 1478 and 1519. They range in subject from flight to weaponry to musical instruments and from mathematics to botany to astronomy and cosmology. These intricate and exquisite drawings, along with examples of Leonardo's famous "mirror writing," will be changed every four months throughout the year so that the artist's multifarious interests can be fully explored.
Combined with the visit to the Sacristy and the exhibition of the Codex Atlanticus is a chance to see more than 20 original drawings and notes by Leonardo in the portion of the Codex kept in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana. Its paintings gallery, called the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, displays one of Leonardo's most beautiful and enigmatic portraits: the "Portrait of a Musician." This small painting of a soulful youth clutching a musical manuscript was one of the highlights of the recent Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery in London. Caravaggio's stunning still life of a basket of just-decaying fruit and original cartoons by Raphael and Michelangelo are other must-see works in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana's rich collection.
From $37.00 Per Person