Unfortunately nearly everything about our visit to Cenacolo Vinciano to view “The Last Supper” turned out to be unsatisfactory - from the booking procedure to the actual visit itself. I know that Milan Museums face tremendous pressure from numbers of people wanting to see it, but things can be “done” better - a few days earlier we had a far superior experience when visiting the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova.

Planning several months in advance, I registered with Vivaticket - the agent which seems to have the prime “rights” to sell tickets. (They have also “cornered” the market for the Scrovegni, but we didn’t use them and, on arrival, obtained a late evening ticket for 4 hours later). This was a bit bureaucratic with the need to create an account with password and to activate it from an e-mailed link (Congratulations - you can now book for rock concerts and soccer matches across Italy!). Confusingly they only open bookings every few months for a variable number of months in advance! So in 2016, on Sep 7 they open sales for Nov/Dec but on 8 Oct they only open up Jan sales! I had registered in July and in early August, duly went to the site on the appointed opening day to book my late Sept ticket - but already everything was said to be sold!! Now there are of course other agents selling tickets as part of expensive wider guided tours of Milan and I wonder if they get “First pick”. On 31 August I decided to try again “just in case” and found that some tickets had “come free” and indeed there were now a few available at 9.30 on our preferred day only 28 days hence!

The Web site stated that the 9.30 tour would be guided in English. Even though there was no choice not to have the guided tour we were required to book first the entrance tickets and then the tour as separate “Bookings”! (Total cost 15.50 Euro per person - 12 for the ticket and 3.50 for the guide each. Unlike at the Scrovegni there are no reductions for EU citizens aged over 65!). The Web site also sold tickets for rented “Audioguides” but, since no one on our tour had one of these, I can only assume that some tours are “unguided” in any language and that, on these, you have the choice as to whether to rent an audio guide or not. IF that is the case and you can get tickets for a “Non guided tour” I would strongly recommend that you do so.

The reason why this should be the case quickly became evident once we had exchanged our reservation for the 4 (!!) paper tickets and were ushered into the climate controlled waiting room. The guide’s English just wasn’t up to the job! Now, as someone who speaks virtually no Italian all, I don’t criticise that - but I do criticise it in someone who is acting as a guide in “English”. Once we were inside the room containing the painting, this, plus the echo effect, meant that, for the entire 15 minutes, we just couldn’t escape the guide’s almost unintelligible droning (there was no problem with the number of visitors - now set at 30). There was absolutely no chance quietly to contemplate and appreciate the object we had come to see! The situation was made worse by guards trying to prevent flash and video photography - an impossible job of course with phones and cameras being used by people who don’t know how to turn off the flash! Quite why video should be banned isn’t clear since, unlike flash, it doesn’t have any potential deleterious effect on the painting and copyright can hardly be an issue in the circumstances. But I managed to incur the wrath of one of these guards by taking a “panorama” still shot (without flash of course)! He had been shouting unsuccessfully for several minutes to prevent unwanted flash and took the movement of my camera to be that of taking “Video” (totally ignoring several others who were really taking video on their mobile phones!!). He clearly considered that my “video” required greater action on his part and he muscled his way aggressively through the group shouting “No Video” and confronted me in an “unpleasant fashion”. The explanation that it wasn’t video at all only brought forth the face saving assertion that “Panorama” wasn’t allowed either!

At the Scrovegni, the visit is preceded by a 15 minute video in a climate controlled room next to the chapel which also uses the time required to equalise the climate before the main door into the chapel is opened. A “top quality” explanation is given with English and German subtitles pointing out the main aspects to be looked for and the actual visit takes place in conditions akin to those in an art gallery. In the circumstances we encountered I personally found little “added value” from my visit to the Last Supper other than to “understand” its location and size in relation to the room (Photo). OK, I am no “art expert” and many of those who are assert that, despite the numerous renovations which the painting has undergone during its “life”, what we are seeing is still “real Leonardo”. Wiki however references others who disagree – “This restoration took 21 years and, on 28 May 1999, the painting was returned to display. Intending visitors were required to book ahead and could only stay for 15 minutes. When it was unveiled, considerable controversy was aroused by the dramatic changes in colors, tones, and even some facial shapes. James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University and founder of Artwatch International had been a particularly strong critic. Michael Daley, director of ArtWatch UK, has also complained about the restored version of the painting. He has been critical of Christ's right arm in the image which has been altered from a draped sleeve to what Daley calls "muff-like drapery". Many of the compositional aspects can of course be studied and appreciated from media without actually seeing the real thing. However, maybe it is true that the painting’s subtle “light” and use of perspective can only be appreciated “in situ” - I am trying to convince myself that this was the case and that the entire exercise was indeed “worthwhile”!