MILAN DURING THE RENAISSANCE – Towards the end of the Middle Ages, between the 13th and the 15th century, Milan rose to extraordinary economic and artistic heights. Together with Florence and Venice, Milan was one of the wealthiest European towns. Milan was the capital of a great Duchy which expanded over a good part of Lombardy.

POWER AND CULTURE IN RENAISSANCE MILAN – The ruling families in Milan, the Visconti, and then the Sforza, were prominent patrons, and transformed Milan into a living center of art and culture. The Duke Ludovico Sforza, nicknamed il Moro, hired artists such as Leonardo and Bramante to adorn the city with sumptuous churches and great frescoes.

THE SFORZA CASTLE – we’ll see some of the absolute masterpieces of that time: at the Sforza Castle, the lusciously ornate Sala delle Asse, frescoed by Leonardo, perhaps the most unusual and well-known room of the Castle. We’ll stop to admire the ‘Pieta’ Rondanini’, the moving last ‘Pietà’ by Michelangelo, to which he worked just before dying.

Our Renaissance Gems tour will go on with the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, known for its ‘false apse’, an impressive trompe l’oeil by Bramante, and the Church of San Maurizio (called the Sistine Chapel of Milan), which was entirely frescoed by Leonardo’s pupils. Unusual as it is, with its central wall, it stands out as a veritable hidden jewel.

ON THE STEPS OF LEONARDO – At the end of the tour, in a final ‘crescendo’, we’ll marvel together in front of Leonardo’s legendary artwork, The Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie. You’ll learn from your guide about Leonardo’s 20-year-long stay in Milan and about the experimental technique the great artist employed here in his eager quest for perfection.