Corso Magenta in a whisper: Leonardo's vineyard and the frescoed silence of San Maurizio

Everyone rushes to Santa Maria delle Grazie for the Last Supper, booked months in advance and photographed in passing. But Corso Magenta doesn't end there. A few steps along the same pavement are enough to leave the crowds behind and slip into two places that most visitors miss entirely, even though they are right before their eyes.

Leonardo's vineyard

The first is Casa degli Atellani, at number 65. In its inner garden grows a vineyard with a precise history: in 1498 Ludovico il Moro gave Leonardo da Vinci a plot of land in this area. For centuries its memory was lost, until in the early twentieth century the scholar Luca Beltrami pinpointed its location by consulting Renaissance documents. In 2015 the vineyard was replanted, its grape variety identified in collaboration with the University of Milan. Walking among those rows, inside a courtyard sealed off from the city's noise, is an intimate experience, far from the orderly queues of the great museums.

Frescoed San Maurizio

A little further on, towards the centre, opens San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore. From outside it is a sober, almost anonymous facade, past which many walk without stopping. Inside, the walls are entirely covered in frescoes: the church was built in the first decades of the sixteenth century for the Benedictine nuns, and the decoration is largely the work of Bernardino Luini and his school. Some call it the Sistine Chapel of Milan, and admission is free.

The most surprising thing is the concentration: two treasures of Renaissance art just a few hundred metres apart, yet almost always peaceful while, only steps away, the crowds jostle for the Last Supper alone.

How to visit

Go mid-morning on a weekday, or in the late afternoon. Check the opening hours of the vineyard, which requires a ticket, while the church is usually free to enter. Move on foot, in silence: these are spaces that reward those who slow down instead of lining up one monument after another.

Related guides: Unusual Lombardy: hidden villages and little-known places far from Milan.

Getting there

Corso Magenta is in the heart of Milan, a short walk from Santa Maria delle Grazie: the church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore and the nearby Casa degli Atellani with Leonardo's vineyard are easily reached by metro, at the Cadorna stop (lines M1 and M2) or Cairoli. The whole area is comfortably explored on foot from the centre. The reference airports are Linate, the closest, and Malpensa, both connected to the city by shuttles and trains.

Practical guides for Como

• Where to stay in Como
• What to see in Como in 2 days
• Where to eat in Como
• How to get to Como