Family Artaria – Paradise Vienna

Visitors and people who moved to Vienna love Vienna; Viennese love Vienna less.
The Italian family Artaria founded a firm in Vienna in 1770 and led love lead to actions. From 1779 onwards they published the famous “Sammlung von Aussichten der Residenzstadt Wien” (Collection of Views of the Residential Town Vienna). Views of Vienna in 57 coloured outline etchings. They do not only show buildings but also people and their life in the town. Among others the park “Augarten” then opened for the public – today my favourite jogging area. The park now still looks in some parts like on the four “Augarten” pages of the collection.
Not only did they produce a sheet of pictures of the city – it even grew with the development of the town because the pages were updated: Again not only the buildings but also the fashion of the inhabitants. But not all changes of the social life from Josephinism to Biedermeier, from the times of “reforms in law, administration, education, culture and the catholic church” to the times of “disappointments after the Restauration of 1815 and the nearly complete renunciation of public-political life” got visualised. Perhaps the idealised town sold better to “tourists”.

Leonardo da Vinci – Last Supper in Vienna

Vienna owns Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452 – 1519) “Last Supper“. No, I don’t come up wit new conspiracy theories. The Viennese Supper is a copy. A mosaic. 918 x 447 centimetre, twenty tons. Created at the beginning of the 19th century by the Roman Giacomo Raffaelli. Ordered by Napoleon. The completion was too late for Napoleon to own it. That’s why the mosaic came to the Minoritenkirche (Minorite Church) at the Viennese Minoritenplatz (Minorite Square).

The emperor Joseph II. gave this church as a present to the Italian nation. The church is a national church – “Maria Schnee” (Maria Snow). A Last Supper as a copy in Italian surroundings; that means Italian flair, that you can enjoy easily. Take the underground number 3 (U3), exit Minoritenplatz instead of fighting your way through traffic jams on the motorway to the original Last Supper in Milan. No over-organised visiting rules as in Milan („Reservation required. In order not to lose the reservation, visitors must arrive 15 minutes before the time allocated for the visit.”)
And – in Milan no one is surprised to “find” the Last Supper. But in Vienna you can still impress people with the Last Supper.

„The Last Supper in Detail“(in 16 Milliarden Pixeln)

Last Supper-Sources:
Benvenuti alla Minoritenkirche!!
Minoritenkirche. “Italienische Nationalkirche Maria Schnee”(Italian national church Maria Snow) in German but with pictures
The Last Supper – the orginal