Santa Maria delle Grazie (Last Supper)
Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie (distance from the hotel: 3 km)

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of the most striking monuments of Lombard Renaissance. The Church was built between 1466 and 1490 under the direction of Guiniforte Solari, only subsequently in 1492 the apsidal part was added by Bramante. In the refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, ancient premises of the Court of the Inquisition, one of the absolute masterpieces of history is kept: Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. The fame of the building is also due to the tribune of the apsidal part on today's Via Caradosso, added in 1492. The inside of the church with a double series of side chapels highlights the Solari's Gothic background just as the arcades on the two rows of columns. The vaults bear frescoed decorations dating from the birth of the building, rediscovered after they had been hidden in 600. From the apse one goes into the small arcaded cloister which leads into the Old Sacristy, built in 1499 and restored in 1982. The walls are lined with wooden cabinets decorated with rich inlay, above which one can see remains of hand painting and fragments of detached frescoes that date back to the construction of the building.
Be sure to take the time to book ahead to the see The Last Supper; you may not be able to get a ticket.

Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
Piazza Sant'Ambrogio, 15 (distance from the hotel: 3km)

One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by St. Ambrose in 379-386, in an area where numerous martyrs of the Roman persecutions had been buried. The first name of the church was in fact Basilica Martyrum.
In the following centuries the edifice underwent several restorations and partial reconstructions, assuming the current appearance in 1099, when it was rebuilt in Romanesque architecture. The basilica plan of the original edifice was maintained, with an apse and two aisles, all with apses, and a portico with elegant archehs supported by semicolumns and pilasters preceding the entrance. The latter was used to house the disciples (catecumeni) coming to Mass to receive baptism (this habit disappeared in the early 11th century).
The flat appearance of the hut-like façade is typical of Lombard medieval architecture. It has two loggias, the lower one with three arcades of equal dimensions joining the portico. The upper loggia has five arcades of different height that follow the ceiling. It is used by the bishop of Milan to bless the people attending outside.
The basilica has two bell towers. The right one, called dei Monaci ("of the Monks"), is from the 9th century and has a severe appearance. The left and higher one dates to 1144, the last two floors added in 1889.
The church also houses the tomb of Emperor Louis II, who died in Lombardy in 875.
In August 1943 the Anglo-American bombings heavily damaged the Basilica.


Basilica of Saint Lawrence
Corso di Porta Ticinese, 39 (distance from the hotel: 4 km)

The Basilica of Saint Lawrence (italian: Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maggiore) is a church in Milan, dedicated to the Christian martyr St.Lawrence. Various suggestions of its origin have been made, including a foundation in c. 370, the Basilica of San Lorenzo was renovated and redecorated in the 16th century. It has however maintained the original Byzantine structure, with a dome and four towers resembling those of Constantinople's   Hagia Sofia. A recent detailed stratiographic study of the walls identified five phases of construction in antiquity from Theodosius I to the early Lombard period.
The square facing the basilica features the so-called "Colonne di San Lorenzo" (Columns of St. Lawrence), one of the few remains of the Roman "Mediolanum", dating from the 3rd century AD and probably belonging to the large baths built by the emperor Maximian. They were carried in the current place when the basilica construction was finished.
Today the square with the columns in  the Ticinese district is a popular area for nightlife.
Previously the area of the ancient basilica which is a park now was occupied by a channel or a lake (probably with a port), while later it was used in public executions, one of which is recounted in Alessandro Manzoni's Storia della Colonna Infame.


Certosa di Garegnano
Via Garegnano, 1 (distance from the hotel: 4 km)

This old Carthusian monastery was founded in 1349 by Giovanni Visconti, and was demolished with the destruction of the cloisters in the late sixteenth century for the construction of the Milan-Laghi road. The complex, dedicated to St. Maria Assunta, is still in the middle of the motorway intersection. Few traces are left of the ancient building, which are still visible from part of the intersection, while the monument still retains it's fifteenth and sixteenth century style. The overturned 'T' building is particular, and is the result of the construction of two chapels in the centre (dating from the fifteenth century). There are differing opinions as to who planned the interesting facade, ranging from Alessi or Pellegrini to Seregni. There are also many paintings which date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.


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