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The Reverend Paolo Venturelli never gets too close when he visits Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s The Last Supper<\/em>. The Dominican friar prefers to stand away from the wall where it was painted, on the opposite side of the room that was once used by members of his order for meals.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom there, the painting looks as though it were painted in the middle of the refectory,\u201d says Venturelli of the masterpiece depicting the story of Jesus\u2019 final meal with his apostles. \u201cIt unleashes all kinds of human and spiritual reactions.\u201d<\/p>\n After the Napoleonic suppression of religious houses in the 18th century, the refectory passed into state hands. Today, it is known as the Cenacolo Vinciano.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t go often because we have to ask permission to enter,\u201d says Venturelli, who can stay inside for only 15 minutes like any other visitor because of preservation rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHe lives in Santa Maria delle Grazie, a convent and basilica<\/span> in Milan, Italy, where da Vinci worked in the 1490s at the request of Ludovico Sforza, then ruler of the city.<\/div>\nThe Last Supper<\/em>, which depicts Jesus announcing that one of his apostles will betray him, is located in the convent\u2019s original refectory. Such rooms still serve as dining spaces where monastic communities<\/span> gather for food, prayer and reading. Yet at Santa Maria delle Grazie, the refectory is no longer part of the friars\u2019 daily lives.<\/div>\n