San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore

In front of you is one of the most low-key façades in central Milan. Grey stone, straight lines, nothing to catch the eye. And yet, behind that door hides one of the most dazzling painted interiors in Italy.

1The nuns' monastery

This was the site of the Monastero Maggiore, the city's most important Benedictine convent for women, documented as early as the Carolingian era. It was built over Roman remains: Maximian's city wall ran close by, and the circus of imperial Mediolanum stretched out nearby. Two towers from that age, one polygonal and one square, still stand in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum next door.

2A church split in two

The present church was begun in 1503. Inside, a wall divides it: the front part was for the public; the larger rear part was for the cloistered nuns, who followed Mass through a grille without being seen. The doors between the two halls were only opened in the 19th century.

From the 1510s onwards, painters of Leonardo's school covered the walls with frescoes. The most famous was Bernardino Luini, who worked here for the Bentivoglio family. Because of this splendour, the Milanese call it the «Sistine Chapel of Milan».

The façade was finished in 1574; the wonder only begins once you step through the door.

3What to look for

• The grey stone façade, sober, almost like a civic building.
• The Archaeological Museum entrance, next door, where the Roman towers stand.
• Via Luini, alongside, named after the painter of the frescoes.