Our tour focuses primarily on the Florentine period of Da Vinci’s life, one of the greatest examples of the union between humanism and science. We will also explore some early works of this Renaissance artist, scientist and engineer.
In 1468, the family Da Vinci family moved from the little town of Vinci to Florence, where Da Vinci was sent to study with Andrea Verrocchio, the most sought after Florentine master of the time. Leonardo was part of this influential milieu until the age of 24.
We begin our tour inside the Uffizi, the most important Italian painting museum, where we will begin to understand his peculiar painting technique in his early works, including the famous Annunciation. This museum also boasts the best existing copy of a lost masterpiece: Leda and the Swan and the Master’s portrait.
Leonardo’s fascination with machines most likely developed during his boyhood: as an apprentice Leonardo, used a variety of machines where he gained practical knowledge about their design and structure.
The tour finishes in Leonardo’s Machineries Museum. The original core of this museum is a vast collection of model machines reconstructed rigorously following Leonardo’s drawings. During his youth, Da Vinci developed a habit of recording his studies in meticulously illustrated notebooks, thus allowing him to draw his mechanical ideas with exceptional clarity.
These studies and sketches were included in various codices and manuscripts, which are now hungrily collected (Bill Gates recently paid $30 million for the Codex Leicester!).
Leonardo’s investigations into the nature of phenomena were central to his life, allowing him to produce studies on countless subjects, including nature, flying machines, geometry, mechanics, anatomy, canals and architecture.
His studies from this period contain designs for advanced military machines, including a tank and other war vehicles, various combat devices, submarines, cannons, guns powder missiles, and a battleship. Leonardo’s civilian designs includes a robot, the parachute, flying machines, the horseless carriage, a wind meter, a spinner machine, a printing press, coin stamping machines and many more. Many of Leonardo’s civilian creations were labor-saving devices, including a number of cranes to ease the problems of lifting, most likely designed with relative ease.
The majority of his ideas were rediscovered centuries after his death.
Details:
- Duration: 3 hours
- Cost of the tour: € 180
- Entrance fees: € 15 Uffizi Gallery
- We will make reservations for you
