Spend the night at Leonardo da Vinci's house

Whether it’s a weekend getaway in a nearby city, or an international voyage, many people are choosing to stay in the private, owner-run accommodation available for rent on sites like Airbnb.

Travellers to Milan for last week’s Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week were treated to a unique experience, as Airbnb’s Milan Design Week installation opened up a number of grand Milanese homes for tour.

The first home, Casa degli Atellani, is a 15th-century villa that has been home to some of Italy’s greatest creative minds including Leonardo da Vinci, who painted his famous Last Supper within its walls.

During this one-off exhibition, some of the design world’s best-known names were invited to bring their personal collections, or recent works, to fill the rooms of the historic villa, once the home of Ludovico Sforza.

The home was once owned by a patron of Leonardo da Vinci, who painted his famous Last Supper while he lived there. Photo: atellaniapartments.com

Da Vinci moved from Florence to Milan in 1482. In 1498, da Vinci’s patron Sforza gave Leonardo a vineyard extending over a hectare of land, adjacent to Sforza’s own home, just at the bottom of the garden of the present-day Casa degli Atellani. 

Contemporary artists and designers were asked to display their work in the restored 15th-century villa, which is now run as a museum. Photo: atellaniapartments.com

When da Vinci was forced to leave Milan, he never forgot his vineyard: in 1519, on his deathbed, he cited it in his will.

The Casa degli Atellani is now run as a museum and private home, and within the house itself, the Atellani Apartments are four, self-catering vacation apartments, available to rent through Airbnb.

During the 1920s restoration, architect Piero Portaluppi discovered and preserved layers of frescoes on the villa’s walls. Photo: atellaniapartments.com

The historic residence was restored in the 1920s by architect Piero Portaluppi, and repaired again after being damaged by a bomb in World War II. The bedrooms and bathrooms were reconfigured and updated in the early 2000s in order to serve as holiday accommodation.

– stuff.co.nz