Standing inside the Maggiore Monastery, the Museo Civico Archeologico displays a fascinating array of prehistoric, Greek, Etrusian, and Roman relics mostly discovered during construction projects around Milan. The collection of Roman artifacts here is extraordinary.

The museum also houses an exhibition revealing an ancient tract of Roman wall erected by the Emperor Massimiano Erculeo in 236-305 D.C. there is also a tower that survives from the Circus Maximus constructed in the 4th Century CE. Other Roman ruins and artifacts, some dating to the third millennium BC are exhibited as well. The museum also houses a book store and other amenities for visitors.

The buildings of the archeological museum are as interesting as the collections within. The initial courtyard was once the entrance to the Monastero Maggiore; and a detailed model, just past the museum’s reception, shows Milan’s Roman incarnation as Mediolanum. As such, the entire ground floor is dedicated to artefacts from this settlement with the likes of Coppa Trivulzio Diatreta from the late fourth century, a cup created from a single piece of glass, and the wonderful stone Zeus head from the first or second century.

When the tourists take a tour downstairs, they witness a stretch of Roman city walls built under Emperor Maximian in the third century and an area which exhibits a small selection of Greek artefacts. The museum also houses a Buddhist art collection from the ancient kingdom of Gandhara.

The round interior is decorated with 13th-century frescoes, including a vivid image of Jesus beaming his stigmata through the air to St Francis of Assisi.

Milan is the second largest city in Italy and also financially the most powerful. this incredibly lively and vibrant city has eight universities and the largest student population in Italy. However, these statistics do not in any way mean that there is a dearth of cultural heritage in Milan. In fact, Milan has some of the churches older than those of Rome. One such church is the church of the Saint Mary of the Graces which contains Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting.

Santa Maria delle Grazie or Saint Mary of the Graces is a church and Dominican convent standing in Milan. This happens to be a landmark of Milan and also takes pride in being included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list. The church is famous for being home to the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent.

Earlier the site had a small chapel dedicated to St. Mary of the Graces. Later, on the orders of Duke of Milan Francesco I Sforza, a Dominican convent and a church was built on its place as per the designs of Guiniforte Solari. When the construction was completed, the new duke Ludovico Sforza decided to have the church as the Sforza family burial place and rebuild the cloister and the apse which were completed after 1490.

Though there is no concrete evidence, yet the apse of the church is believed to be by Donato Bramante. In 1543, the Holy Crown chapel received a painting by Titian, The Crowning with Thorns. This was carried away by French troops in 1797, after their conquest of Milan.

During World War II, the night of 15 August 1943, bombs dropped by British and American planes hit the church and the convent. Much of the refectory was destroyed. However, because the wall holding work of the Last Supper had been sand-bagged for protection, it survived.