Milan – West Central Milan

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West Central Milan is the part of Municipio 1 located to the west of the historic center of the city. Delimited by the now-demolished medieval and Spanish walls of Milan, this area includes the neighborhoods of Magenta and San Vittore.

✪ Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is a 15th-century church in Milan. It features a blend of Gothic and Renaissance style, with an apse designed by Bramante, and its interiors house several artworks. However, the church is best known for its refectory, which hosts The Last Supper (L’Ultima Cena or Il Cenacolo) by Leonardo da Vinci. Painted at the end of the 15th century, this is considered one of the greatest works of da Vinci, and a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. One of the most famous and imitated art pieces in history, it depicts the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostoles, at the moment in which Jesus predicts that one of them will betray him. Badly damaged over the centuries, the work has been restored several times.

✪ National Museum of Science and Technology

The National Museum of Science and Technology (Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia) is the largest science and technology museum in Italy, dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci. Located in a former monastery adjacent to the Church of San Vittore al Corpo, the museum includes a huge collection that features aircrafts, locomotives, submarines, ships, astronomical instruments, telegraphs, computers, and industrial machinery, among many other interesting pieces. A section of the museum is focused on Leonardo da Vinci, and it features various machines reproduced from his drawings.

✪ Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio

The Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio is a large church in Milan originally founded in the 4th century and later rebuilt in Lombard Romanesque style. The church was built to house the relics of the Three Magi, but these were moved to Cologne after Frederick Barbarossa sacked Milan in 1162. Only in 1903 a small portion of the relics returned to Milan, and are now hosted in the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio. The church also features various richly decorated chapels, most notably the Portinari Chapel (Cappella Portinari), dating from the Renaissance. Various elaborate funerary monuments are also located inside the church. The Diocesan Museum of Milan (Museo Diocesano di Milano) is adjacent to the basilica and it hosts many pieces of religious art ranging from the Paleochristian age until today. The large city park Parco Giovanni Paolo II or Parco delle Basiliche (“Basilicas Park”) is located behind the church, linking it with the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

Church of San Vittore al Corpo

The Church of San Vittore al Corpo is an ancient church in Milan. Originally erected in the 4th century as a Roman mausoleum, the building was later enlarged and completely rebuilt in the 16th century. The church features richly decorated interiors, adorned with elaborate Baroque and Mannerist frescoes and artworks.

Antiquarium of Milan

The Antiquarium of Milan is an archaeological museum which hosts various finds from the Roman and medieval period unearthed in the city. The museum also includes the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater of Milan, which was built in the 1st century CE and demolished in the 5th or 6th century.