Tourists stopped by to watch The Last Supper, while Olympic VIPs toured Vans

MILAN (AP) — Tourists in Milan hoping to see Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” during the Winter Olympics were in for an unexpected surprise: Access to the masterpiece has been closed to the public for 3 1/2 days.

The painting, created between 1494 and 1498 by the Italian Renaissance artist, is located on a wall inside the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a church and Dominican convent still used by the friars. It is a major attraction for art admirers and devout Catholics.

Tourists on the road to Santa Maria delle Grazie were frustrated as they were trapped in a police cordon. Antonio Rodriguez, who traveled from Spain with friends, said they won’t get another chance to see the painting or the nearby church because they only traveled for the weekend.

“We didn’t know we were going to face it,” Rodriguez said, adding that he had no plans to attend games-related events. “We went somewhere in town.”

A sign on the wall outside Il Cenacolo Vinciano states that it will be closed all day on the morning of February 5, 6 and 7 and February 8 without giving a reason. Employees there told an Associated Press reporter that they were not authorized to provide any information.

VIPs are allowed entry on Saturdays as well

Unbeknownst to the disappointed visitors, several groups of VIPs were exempted from restrictions on Saturday.

Among them were US Vice President JD Vance and his family, a statement from the Office of the Vice President said. They left in the morning after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and attending the opening ceremony of the games.

Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019, which he says has brought him a sense of spiritual fulfillment. He visited Rome and the Vatican City during Holy Week last year and was one of the last world leaders to meet Pope Francis before his death. They sat down together on Easter Sunday after a long-distance dispute over the Trump administration’s immigration deportation plans.

In addition to Vance, several foreign delegations have visited The Last Supper and Brera Art Gallery in recent days, including China, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, Grande Brera director Angelo Crespi, who oversees both institutions, said in a statement.

“We interpret our role responsibly not only in terms of tourism, but also in terms of international relations,” he said.

Traffic around the shrine was diverted on Saturday. People walking on nearby roads said public transport was also disrupted.

“Trams were changed without notice,” Fedeli Gioia said. “This whole area is blocked off because someone is going to see Il Senacolo? And where does that leave us civilians?”

A painting that – with care and luck – has survived for centuries

The Last Supper – described by the famous writer Giorgio Vasari in his writings as “a beautiful and wonderful thing” – has been preserved under strict conservation conditions.

Instead of creating a fresco that would allow the paint to be absorbed by the plaster, Leonardo used a dry technique that made it more vulnerable to deterioration. Environmental damage and repeated restoration efforts have changed its appearance and prompted ongoing conservation efforts.

Nowadays, tours last about 15 minutes for a maximum of 40 people at a time and temperature and humidity are strictly controlled.

Leonardo’s painting depicts the moment Jesus tells his apostles: “One of you will betray me.” Previous artists had other interpretations of the composition of the scene, but Leonardo reinterpreted it, placing Jesus in the center and arranging the apostles in four groups of three.

In addition to conservation issues derived from the dry technique used by Leonardo, the wall was damaged when Napoleon’s troops used the refectory housing as a stable during the French occupation of Milan in the late 1700s. Later, during World War II, the Santa Maria delle Grazie complex was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1943.

It made a somewhat controversial appearance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. A scene from the opening ceremony evoked the painting, and featured DJ Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — wearing a silver headdress that looked like a halo as the performers and dancers reflected.

France’s Catholic bishops said it mocked Christian symbolism, and the Vatican said the scene “offended” Christians.

Tourists watch from a distance

A group of Japanese tourists were among the visitors behind a police cordon on Saturday. They photographed the church from a distance and listened to the guide’s explanation in the middle of the road.

Luisa Castro, a Filipina who has lived in Milan for 20 years, was hoping to visit Santa Maria delle Grazie with friends.

“We are Filipino Catholics and we rarely have time to go to this kind of church,” she said. “Unfortunately, the Vice President of the United States came to watch the Last Supper and we couldn’t get in.”

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Associated Press writers Colin Barry and Michelle Price in Milan contributed to this report.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Associated Press religion coverage is supported by funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc., AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US. AP is solely responsible for this content.