Leonardo da Vinci's fragile masterpiece — 40 visitors, 15 minutes, and one of the rarest tickets in Italy.
IGBy Ivanka García Mancebo · Civitatis travel specialist
Painted between 1495 and 1498 on the refectory wall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper — Il Cenacolo to Italians — is one of the most famous images in Western art. It captures the electric instant after Christ tells his apostles that one of them will betray him, freezing twelve very human reactions of shock, denial and grief in a single, perfectly balanced composition.
Quick answer
What are the opening hours for the Last Supper?
Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm and Sunday from 9am to 1:45pm, with timed entry every 15 minutes. Closed on Mondays, 1 January and 25 December.
At a glance
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 8:15am–7pm. Closed Mondays.
Tickets
From €15. Booking well in advance is essential — slots sell out weeks ahead.
Time needed
A fixed 15-minute timed viewing slot for each group.
Location
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Corso Magenta — a short walk from Cadorna.
Leonardo painted it not as a true fresco but in tempera and oil on dry plaster — a technique that let him work slowly and rework detail, but which began to flake within his own lifetime. Centuries of damp, clumsy restorations, a doorway cut through Christ's feet and, in 1943, an Allied bomb that flattened much of the refectory (the wall survived behind sandbags) have left it fragile. A painstaking 22-year restoration finished in 1999 stabilised what remains.
To protect it, entry is tightly controlled: just 40 visitors pass through a sequence of climate-controlled airlocks and are given exactly 15 minutes in front of the wall. It makes the Cenacolo one of the hardest tickets to get in Italy — and, for many, the most moving 15 minutes of their trip.
Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in Santa Maria delle Grazie
1495
Begun by Leonardo
40
Visitors per slot
15 min
Time at the wall
1980
UNESCO listed
Tickets sell out weeks ahead
Reserve your Last Supper slot
Reserved entry with an expert guide — the easiest way in when official tickets have gone. Free cancellation.
You get 15 minutes, so know what to seek out. Beyond the mural itself, the refectory holds a second great painting and the whole complex — church and convent — is worth the short time before or after your slot.
The moment of betrayal
Christ has just said 'one of you will betray me'. Follow the ripple of reaction outward through four groups of three apostles — Leonardo's radical break from the static rows of earlier versions.
Judas in shadow
Third from the left, clutching a purse and knocking over the salt, Judas leans back into darkness — the only figure whose face is thrown into shade.
The Crucifixion opposite
Don't miss Donato Montorfano's 1495 Crucifixion on the far wall — a full, intact fresco that most visitors overlook while facing Leonardo's.
The church & convent
Santa Maria delle Grazie next door, with its Bramante dome, is a UNESCO site in its own right and free to enter around your timed slot.
How to book
Tickets are released in batches, usually a few months at a time, and disappear fast. There are two realistic routes in — official timed tickets the moment they open, or a guided tour that holds a block of reserved slots. Prices are approximate.
Option
Price
Official timed ticketStandard entry, released in batches
€15
Guided tour + entryReserved slot with an expert guide
From €45
Combined city tourCenacolo with Duomo or Sforza Castle
From €69
Sold out? Don't give up. A share of tickets is held back for guided tours, so a tour is often the only way in at short notice. Arrive 20 minutes before your slot — latecomers lose their place and there are no refunds.
Getting there & hours
Getting thereMetro to Conciliazione (M1 red) or Cadorna (M1 red, M2 green), each a 5–10 minute walk. Trams 16 and 18 stop close by.
Opening hoursGenerally Tuesday–Sunday, roughly 8:15am–7pm, entry every 15 minutes. Closed Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
LocationPiazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie 2, west of the centre — combine it with a walk to the Sforza Castle or Parco Sempione.
Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm and Sunday from 9am to 1:45pm, with timed entry every 15 minutes. Closed on Mondays, 1 January and 25 December.
Yes — booking ahead is essential. Only 40 people enter every 15 minutes, and tickets routinely sell out weeks in advance. Reserve online as soon as your dates are fixed, or join a guided tour that includes a reserved entry slot.
The standard timed ticket is around €15 plus a booking fee. Guided tours that bundle the entry, a guide and often skip-the-line access to other sights cost more but are the easiest way to secure a slot when official tickets have sold out.
Fifteen minutes. Visitors pass through a series of climate-controlled airlocks that filter dust and humidity to protect the fragile painting, then have a strict quarter of an hour in the refectory before the next group enters.
On the refectory wall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, next to the church of the same name. It is a short walk from Conciliazione (M1) and Cadorna (M1, M2) metro stations, west of the city centre.
