Hungarian researcher may have found the real location behind Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper

According to Hungarian researcher Gábor Spielmann, it is possible that Leonardo da Vinci based The Last Supper on a real monastery dining hall that still exists today. The hypothesis could shed new light on one of the most debated aspects of the world-famous painting.

Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper has been one of the most extensively analyzed works in art history for centuries. Painted on the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery in Milan, the fresco was long believed to depict an entirely imagined architectural space. This is why the question of whether the background represents a purely fictional setting or was inspired by a real location has become increasingly significant.

A familiar Italian monastery

Spielmann, an independent Hungarian researcher, noticed the San Calocero Monastery during a trip to northern Italy, after encountering an article in the Italian press suggesting a possible link between the monastery’s refectory and the spatial composition of The Last Supper. The building is over a thousand years old and once served as an important religious center in the region.

The monastery’s refectory—the dining hall used by monks—particularly caught Spielmann’s attention. The proportions of the room, the placement of the windows, and the depth of the space closely resemble the hall depicted by Leonardo in The Last Supper.

“Upon entering the second-floor room, it immediately becomes apparent how closely its dimensions match the proportions seen in the painting. Three windows at the back, a coffered ceiling, and side walls divided into three sections. Leonardo suggested additional spaces behind the columns to avoid a cramped feeling. He only reduced the size of the windows and balcony doorway—removing the slight arches—and enlarged the wall surface above them to further enhance the sense of spatial depth,” wrote Index.

Spielmann also identified other similarities, including the Lombard landscape visible through the windows. The shape of the surrounding hills and the lines of the background closely resemble the scenery depicted behind the figures in the painting.