Santa Maria delle Grazie

In front of you are really two buildings living side by side. The brick nave, in late Gothic style, was begun by Guiniforte Solari in 1463 for the Dominican friars. But the back part, that great cube crowned by a sixteen-sided drum, is another story: it was the wish of Ludovico Sforza, known as il Moro, lord of Milan.

1A mausoleum for the Sforza

In 1492 the first stone of the new east end was laid. Ludovico pictured it as his dynasty's mausoleum. Tradition credits it to Bramante, who was working in Milan at the time, but no document proves it. In 1497 his wife, Beatrice d'Este, died aged just 22 and was buried in the choir. The dream was short-lived: in 1499 the French took Milan, and Ludovico ended his days as a prisoner in France. The couple's tomb effigies are now in the Certosa di Pavia.

2Leonardo's wall

In the convent refectory, to the left of the church, Leonardo painted the Last Supper in the late 15th century, using an experimental technique that began to deteriorate very early. On 15 August 1943 a bomb brought down the refectory vault; the Last Supper wall, protected by sandbags, survived.

A duke dreamed of a mausoleum; history mostly remembers a supper painted in the friars' dining hall.

3What to look for

• The drum, with galleries and round windows, hiding the dome.
• The terracotta roundels on the front and sides.
• The entrance to the Last Supper, on the left, in the former convent.