Milan. The Last Supper’s new climate-control system is branded Eataly

“The very moment The Last Supper was concluded, decay set in,” says Chiara Rostagno, the director of the Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano. Since 1498, The Last Supper has been fighting against old Father Time. In the past century, the best technology available in the field of art preservation has been wielded to this end. Most recently, a two-year operation has come to completion that will lengthen the painting’s life by 500 years. Rostagno explains how fragile this work by da Vinci is, and how much meticulous care is needed to keep it alive. To avoid future restorations as well as to welcome more visitors, important improvements have just been made to the room containing the mural. From now on, 10,000 cubic metres of clean air per day will be pumped into the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, much more than the 3,500 that used to enter the space. This fact is interesting for another reason. The owner of Eataly, Oscar Farinetti, sponsored the work by donating 700,000 euros. In other words, a private company invested a large amount of money in a cultural initiative, just like used to happen during the Renaissance, when patrons hired artists for their bello stilo (“beautiful style”). In this aspect, history was more liberal than the present day.

The experiment worked: it benefits everyone. Eataly has gained in public image, and will be able to organise dinners at the Santa Maria delle Grazie church. The Lombardy museum circuit will gain new visitors (an expected 500,000 of them) and has obtained the maintenance of the artwork. Indirectly, Italy's artistic heritage (the country’s “brand”) will profit. The Last Supper is visited mostly by foreigners. Stefano L'Occaso, the director of Polo Museale Regionale della Lombardia, says that the operation was financed for 65 per cent by Eataly and for 35 per cent by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. “The new air-purifying and conditioning system will allow us to improve the preservation of the painting. The contribution of a private company quickened the work by one year. Things got underway immediately,” says L’Occaso.

Oscar Farinetti, mastermind and pocketbook of Eataly, says, “We branded the operation Una cena così non la puoi perdere (loosely, “You can't miss/lose a supper like this”) because we want to augment visitor numbers and because we cannot afford to lose this painting.” Now that only fully filtered air enters the refectory, a system of ducts was installed to channel air out of the space at floor level. This spent air is sent to a filtering unit standing on the floor (in consideration of earthquakes) in the Chiosco dei Morti (Cloister of the Dead). “This all came about thanks to the collaborative participation of the Dominican friars,” concludes Chiara Rostagno, the director of the museum. They have been taking care of this masterpiece for all these years.