Mondadori: “Virtual History – The Last Supper”

Mondadori has expanded its digital Virtual History series with a new iPad application: the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

The app has an innovative format, the key strength of the Virtual History products, that allows users to discover the secrets of works of art through a 360° journey, featuring 3D illustrations and, in the case of the Last Supper, the possibility to learn about a number of unknown elements about the masterpiece by the genius of the Italian renaissance.

Thanks to this new application it is possible to discover details about the painting technique used by the Tuscan master – the preparation of the plaster, the preparatory designs, the landscape, the gestures of the guests at the table – and to understand the background surrounding the invention of perspective, the core of the cultural revolution of the Renaissance.
The work is put into its historical context, which makes it possible to learn a great deal about fifteenth century Milan and the relationship that Leonardo da Vinci had with both the city itself and its governors.

But the Last Supper is above all famous for the mysteries that have always surrounded it and which have contributed to the worldwide renown of the work. An entire chapter of the app is dedicated to the “Mysteries of the Code”, with sections that compare the different theories that have been developed over the centuries.
Finally, a specific guided tour takes visitors through the history of the Last Supper post-Leonardo right up to the Pinin Brambilla restoration that, just a few decades ago, returned the masterpiece to its ancient glory.

“After the success of Virtual History – Rome, which won wide acclaim also in the USA, we are delighted to present a new app that will help users to appreciate the smallest details of a work of global cultural significance in an experience that combines learning, games and discovery,” declared Vittorio Veltroni, general manager of Mondadori Digital.
“Virtual History gives life to a new form of spreading knowledge and culture that is accessible to everyone: families, students, teachers, tourists and art lovers who will now be able to really get inside the mysteries of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, and to see the work with new eyes and in ways made possible by the use of innovative technologies,” concluded Veltroni.

As with the “Virtual History – Rome” app, Mondadori has worked together with Applix, using its proprietary “bubble viewer” technology, created and developed in Italy and patented in the USA, which enhances the sensors in tablet-type devices (accelerometer and compass) to create a new generation of illustrations in the form of a digital bubble. The use of this technology, which offers and “immersive” experience, transforms the iPad into a sort of telescope, allowing the user to explore a virtual world projected around people. The “Last Supper” is the second in the “Virtual History” series and is available from the Apple App Store, in Italian and English, at €7.99.