The route is delineated by information taken from map RLW 12679, also keeping in mind map RLW 12680, the Codex Leicester, the Codex Arundel and Ms. L.

This ideal walk along the ancient banks of the Arno can start from the plain of Ripoli (from "ripe", i.e., rive [banks] of the Arno), traversed in Roman times by the Via Cassia, which was described by Repetti in the 19th century as follows: «The plain, or rather the garden, most delightful, most fruitful, most flowery, most populated with villas, palaces, churches and habitations, among those that form a garland around beautiful Florence».

 

1) "Molino di Badia" (Molino Guasti)

Leonardo indicates the Mulino [mill] of Rovezzano, bought by the Badia Fiorentina from the Albizi family in the 15th century, also known as "Molino Nuovo" or "Molino delle Guazzine" and then as "Mulino del Guasti", still standing on the left bank.

 

2) "Nave"

On the right bank, almost illegible (and forgotten in the transcriptions), Leonardo indicates "La Nave" [the boat] upstream of Rovezzano, with the weir, the ferryboat that connected the two banks and the mill called "della Nave". Today the locality of Rovezzano occupies the right bank, while Nave a Rovezzano is on the left bank (this locality developed as a farm named "La Nave").

 

3) Mensola

The Mensola torrent is a right tributary of the Arno that starts from Monte Ceceri and Maiano, and flows below Settignano (in the Ponte a Mensola locality) to enter the Arno between Rovezzano and Varlungo. Leonardo draws it on the hydrographic map of Tuscany (RLW 12277), studies it in the Codex Leicester (18B-18v: «Concavity made by Mensola, when Arno is low and Mensola big») and mentions it in the Codex Atlanticus (f. 404v) around 1503.

 

4) First sandbank

Between the Mensola and Varlungo, Leonardo draws a first sandbank (an island that could be submerged in times of high water) between Arno and Bisarno; and indicates its dimensions: «1000 braccia wide and 2000 long» (about 68 hectares).

 

5) First " ancient mill "

At the end of the first sandbank, Leonardo draws the first "ancient mill" between Arno and Bisarno, between the right bank (the Varlungo locality) and the left bank (Rusciano).

 

6) Varlungo

The name is thought to derive from the ancient Vadum Longum, that is, long ford. The locality, situated on the right bank of the river, was in fact near a ford and on the route from Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano to the Old Mint. The mills of Varlungo are recorded in documents from the 15th and 16th centuries.

 

7) Rusciano

This locality is found on the left bank of the Arno, along with the Dominican monastery of Santo Nuovo (today's Istituto Gualandi), at the foot of the hill named "Rucano" or Rusciano, which Leonardo draws and indicates on f. 19r of Madrid Ms. II and mentions in Ms. L: «To remedy the percussion of the Arno at Rusciano and turn it in a gentle bend at Ricorboli and make such a wide riverbank that the fall of its steep bank is above the latter». Here there was a clay deposit, and then a kiln called "La Mattonaia".

There still exists a Via di Rusciano today, and between Via Benedetto Fortini and Via di Ripoli stands the Rusciano Villa.

 

8) Second " ancient mill "

The mill was located at the beginning of the second sandbank, called Bisarno, between the right bank (Varlungo) and the left bank (Rusciano).

 

9) Second sandbank - " Bisarno "

Toward the left bank, between "Rucano" and Ricorboli, Leonardo indicates the Bisarno; he specifies its dimensions: «2100 braccia long and 800 wide», that is, an area of around 57 hectares; and remarks: «here the Arno overflows in times of high water». Leonardo clarifies the nature of the Bisarno on folio 404v of the Codex Atlanticus: «Arno... the riverbed rises and the water does not stay within the banks, but overflows and makes new rivers, the first of which forms the Bisarno, so that cutting it off will provide more land there». In 1644, the Medici planned to establish a hunting reserve on the Bisarno. Today we find here Villa il Casone, the water plant of Anconella (from the name of a stream) and there also exist a Via del Bisarno and a Castello del Bisarno (Villa Beccari, in Via di Badia a Ripoli). In the Anconella Park, the dome over Santa Maria del Fiore has been replicated in scale, interpreting the method used on Brunelleschi's construction site.

 

10) "La Rotta"

On map RLW 12679, on the right bank, Leonardo indicates "La Rotta" [rupture, break] twice, citing it the first time as a place name derived from the rupture of the bank between Varlungo and Casaccia ("Chasacce"). On folio 274r of the Codex Arundel, Leonardo sketches this bank with precise annotations: «640 braccia is the broken wall and 150 is the remaining wall with the mill [presumably that of Varlungo]. 300 braccia of the Bisarno has broken in 4 years».

 

11) Third " ancient mill "

The mill was found between "Casaccia" and the "Bisarno".

 

12) "Casacce"

Leonardo indicates Casaccia on the right bank, opposite the "Bisarno", just after the third "ancient mill". He also mentions it on two folios in the Codex Arundel (f. 1v: "Reeds of Casacce" and f. 273v: "Casacce" and "the wall of Casacce straightens out at the San Nicolò gate", which however is found on the left bank).

The banks in the area of the ancient Casaccia of Bartolino di Baccio degli Organi, devastated by floods and currents during times of high water, were reinforced several times by imposing walls erected under the Florentine Republic and the Mediean government.

Today there exists a Via della Casaccia, which runs from the right bank of the Arno to Via Aretina.

 

13) "Rotta" of the ferryboat

On map RLW 12680, Leonardo draws a ferryboat, with no other indications, after the Casacce and upstream of the second "Rotta" (break, rupture). The latter is shown on the right bank, in two parts facing the third sandbank: the first measures «60 bracci» (around 35 metres), the second «100 bracci» (58.3 metres).

 

14) Third sandbank

It was "700 bracci" wide and 1550 long (for a surface area of around 36 hectares), and stretched beyond the Africo torrent, opposite Ricorboli.

 

15) Ricorboli

The locality is correctly indicated by Leonardo on the left bank of the river, where a Via di Ricorboli exists today. It was named for a stream (Rivo Corbuli ) that flowed down from the Montici hill (drawn by Leonardo in Madrid Ms. II), toward today's Piazza Ferrucci.

 

16) Africo

A right tributary of the Arno, it flows down from Monte Ceceri, between Fiesole and Maiano.

On f. 211v of the Codex Atlanticus, Leonardo notes: «In Affrico the day of March 5, 1503».

 

17) "Mulino della parte"

Leonardo indicates the mill on the left bank (along the course of the Bisarno), downstream of Ricorboli.

We enter Florence, starting the second route based on the map of the bridges in the Codex Arundel and the map of Florence RLW 12681. Leonardo specifies (in Ms. L) that the distance «from the Arno wall of Giustizia to the Arno bank of Sardigna, where there are the mulberry trees at the mill is 7400 braccia, that is, 2 miles and 1400 braccia (on the right bank)» and «on the other side of the Arno it is 5500 braccia» (on the left bank), but the difference of 1900 braccia given by Leonardo (equivalent to about 1,107 metres) seems not to match the actual distance between the points indicated.

 

1) Pescaia "della Giustizia" (Pescaia di San Niccolò)

In the Codex Leicester (f. 13A-13r) , Leonardo takes notes «on the Giustizia weir».

The"Giustizia" weir was located on the right bank, in the place later known as the Zecca Vecchia (old mint). From this bank of the Arno, the weir crossed the river as far as the bank in front of today's Piazza Poggi with the San Niccolò gate.

 

2) "Mulina di San Niccolò"

Around 1507 Leonardo noted in the Codex Atlanticus (f. 571a-r) «From the outflow coming from the mills in the Arno through the sluice-gate at the Rubaconte bridge»: he was referring to the mills of San Niccolò, situated on the left bank of the river.

In the Codex Arundel (f. 273v) he observes that, on the opposite bank: «the Casacce wall straightens out at the San Nicolò gate».

In the Codex Leicester (f. 7A-30v) he describes a sequence of cascades in referring to these same mills: «Against the mills of Sancto Nicolò that want no obstacle of any kind in their millcourse […]».

These were imposing fortified mills, appearing frequently in the historic iconography of Florence.

 

3) "Isola dei Cocomeri"

Leonardo notes on folio 13A-13r of the Codex Leicester: «there is a shoal, at the place where the Isola dei Cocomeri ends in the middle of the Arno».

This observation is found along with others regarding the Rubaconte bridge, the Giustizia weir, Palazzo Bisticci and Palazzo Canigiani (in Via de' Bardi). This suggests that there was an island in the Arno in the section upstream of "Ponte Rubaconte" (that is, Ponte alle Grazie) and perhaps also of the Giustizia weir, where the more frequently mentioned "Isola d'Arno" was located: the place where Pazzino Pazzi, for instance, went hunting with his falcon and was killed in 1312.

 

4) " Spedale del Ceppo"

On folio 16B-16v of the Codex Leicester, Leonardo notes observations made in the Arno «on the Rubaconte bridge, at the Torricella» and «under the Ceppo hospital».

This was the Hospital of S. Filippo and Iacopo del Ceppo, or of the Torricella, on the right bank of the Arno, until 1530 adjacent to the Companies of S. Niccolò and S. Girolamo del Ceppo. This building was located in Corso de' Tintori, near Palazzo Doni; it was here that Raphael painted the portraits of Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi, probably influenced by Leonardo's Dama al balcone.

 

5) "Ponte Rubaconte " (Ponte alle Grazie)

The bridge was built in 1237 and took the name of the Milanese Podesta of Florence. It was the only other bridge, along with Ponte Vecchio, to withstand the flood of the Arno in 1833.

Crossing the river at its widest point, it had 9 arcades for a length of around 215 meters (2 arcades were closed in 1347) to make space for Piazza de' Mozzi (mentioned by Leonardo on f. 190v of the Codex Arundel); a third was closed in the 19th century to build the street along the Arno on the left bank.

Leonardo describes it, in the Codex Arundel (f. 273v), «[long] 290 and wide 12 and 2 of sides and 16 of piles»; and mentions it in the Codex Leicester, on f. 13A-13r and on f. 16B-16v («On the Rubaconte bridge, at the Torricella»). In the Codex Atlanticus (f. 571a-r) he mentions «the sluice-gate at the Rubaconte bridge».

In the mid-fifteenth century it was named "alle Grazie" for the Oratory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, built on the pillars of the bridge along with the cells of the cloistered nuns (Le Murate, which remained there until 1424) and the shops built on the bridge starting from 1292.

Ponte alle Grazie joined the houses of the Alberti family (on the right bank, today Via de' Benci) with the houses of the Mozzi family (on the left bank, still today Piazza de' Mozzi), rebuilt after 1260 in the fortified palace in line with Via San Niccolò.

The present bridge was rebuilt after having been destroyed in 1944.

 

6) Ponte Vecchio

This is the most ancient and historic of the Florentine bridges, although it was destroyed by the flood of 1333 and rebuilt in 1345 by Taddeo Gaddi, who reduced the number of arcades from five to three. The shops were added in successive stages (38 in 1427) and lastly the Vasari Corridor.

In the Codex Arundel (f. 273v) Leonardo describes it thusly: «Bridge long 152 braccia and wide [?]».

 

7) Ponte Santa Trinita

Leonardo describes this bridge in the Codex Arundel (f. 273v): «188 Wide 15 braccia and 2 of sides and 28 pillars for the sides, and the pillars are 2». Indicating the distance between the various bridges, he specifies for instance that between Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alla Carraia there are 410 braccia.

The bridge was rebuilt in 1567 by Bartolomeo Ammannati and the director of works, Alfonso Parigi the Elder, specifies its dimensions: width - without the sides - 17 braccia (instead of the 15 measured by Leonardo), length 168 braccia (instead of Leonardo's 188).

It joins Via Tornabuoni (Piazza Santa Trinita) to Via Maggio (Piazza de' Frescobaldi).

 

8) Ponte alla Carraia

In the Codex Arundel (f. 272v), between a list of expenses and studies on the Arno, Leonardo notes: «Hits the "muro de' compari" [the companions' wall] at the II pile of the Carraia: IV south-east…». And on folio 273v of the same codex he describes it as follows: «[long braccia] 230, wide braccia 12 and 2 of sides and 14 of piles and has 4 pillars».

Built of wood on stone pylons as the "Ponte Nuovo", or new bridge, in 1218-1220, it collapsed in 1304 under the weight of the crowd that had gathered on it to watch a representation of the Inferno for the festival of Calendimaggio; it was swept away by the flood of 1333; and was rebuilt between 1334 and 1337 (perhaps to the design of Giotto).

Destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt in the postwar period, it joins Via del Moro and Via de' Fossi (from today's Piazza Goldoni) and Via dei Serragli (with today's Piazza Nazario Sauro).

 

9) "Muro de' Compari" (Lungarno Vespucci )

On folio 273v of the Codex Arundel, Leonardo indicates «Borgo Ognissanti 850 [braccia] » as the distance between Ponte alla Carraia and today's Santa Rosa Weir (formerly Ognissanti Weir), that is, the «muro dei compari» (companions' wall), between «the pile of Carraia" and the «pescaia de' compari» (that is, the "Ognissanti weir", as Leonardo indicates it on folio RLW 12678). It was also called the "Consorti wall" in relation to the Consorteria delle Mulina d'Ognissanti (the Ognissanti mills association).

 

10) "Pescaia d'Ognissanti" (di Santa Rosa)

Leonardo mentions the Ognissanti weir in RLW 12678 and it is the same «pescaia de' compari» mentioned in the Codex Arundel (f. 272v). The weir, which is clearly visible on the "Map of the Catena" from 1472, created a river port. On the left bank was the Pignone wharf near Porta San Frediano, on the right bank another landing place and the Porticciola del Prato.

 

11) "Muro dell'Uccello" (Lungarno Soderini )

In the Codex Arundel (f. 272v), Leonardo mentions «the wall of the bird at ¾ to the south-east»: this is the bank on the left side of the river, still in the section between the Carraia bridge and the Santa Rosa weir. On folio 273v, he specifies its size as only 230 braccia. In this area there was an ancient drying shop, "dell'uccel grifagno" (of the predatory bird), belonging to the Wool Merchants' Guild.

 

The third part of the Arno itinerary is based on maps RLW 12678, considering also 12677, folios 148v, 149r, 273r and 275v of the Codex Arundel and 15A-15r of the Codex Leicester.

Leonardo calculates that from "point S" (the confluence of the two branches of the Arno at Peretola) to the Ognissanti weir (in proximity to the "Sardigna") «is 5000 bracci, that is, a mile and 2/3" (around 3,000 metres)». On the folios of the Codex Arundel, in addition to measuring the course and the banks of the Arno and the Mugnone, Leonardo takes an interest in the hydraulic system and characteristics of the mills and fulling mills on the right bank ("8 and 2 millstones") and on the left bank ("2 millstones"), as well as the relationship between the city's walls and the river.

 

1) "Sardigna"

Prior to Leonardo, it was considered an "Island in the Arno". But on the Map of the Catena, dating from 1472, the "Sardigna" is represented as a triangular plot of land, bounded mainly by the Arno, then by the ancient course of the Mugnone, but also by the city walls (in the section corresponding to the Prato d'Ognissanti, between the Porticciola del Prato on the Arno and the corner tower next to the bridge over the Mugnone). The carcasses of animals were abandoned here, and some fulling mills had also been built. Leonardo mentions it not only on folios RLW 12678 and 12677 but also in Ms. L and the Codex Atlanticus.

At present it is the area between Lungarno Vespucci, Via Curtatone and Borgo Ognissanti.

 

2) Mugnone

At the time of Leonardo, the course of the Mugnone had already shifted downstream. It passed in front of Porta al Prato behind today's Fortezza da Basso and flowed into the Arno on the right bank, at the present-day Lungarno Vespucci (between Ponte alla Vittoria and the Comunale Theatre), at a distance from the corner stronghold of the walls calculated by Leonardo as 410 braccia.

Leonardo studies it in the Windsor papers, in the Codex Leicester and on various folios of the Codex Arundel, for example 29v: «Solid stone of Mugnone hollowed out by the water in the shape of vases; it is so precise as to seem a work made by man».

Today the Mugnone flows into the Arno much further downstream, at the Ponte all'Indiano (where the Cascine park ends).

 

3) Island of Legnaia

Between the ancient confluence of the Mugnone and the Rifredi with the Arno, Leonardo describes, on map RLW 12678, an «island 1600 bracci long and 700 wide, and the water that leaps from Legnaia is 2300 bracci long». This is the zone of today's Isolotto quarter, near Legnaia, on the left bank of the Arno.

 

4) Ponte alle Mosse

Leonardo expressly indicates Ponte alle Mosse on the "Rifredi river" (where instead the Mugnone torrent passes today, after having incorporated the waters of the Rifredi, now called Terzolle, while Rifredi is the name of the quarter) on map RLW 12678. And he describes it in incomplete manner on folio 149r of the Codex Arundel.

Ponte alle Mosse is now found in Piazza Puccini, at the crossroads with Via di Ponte alle Mosse, Via Baracca, Via Francesco Redi and Via delle Cascine.

 

5) " Rifredi " ( Terzolle )

What Leonardo indicates as "Rifredi" was in ancient times the Rivus Frigidus (Rio Freddo, or cold stream). Today it is called Terzolle, and already Leonardo indicates it as "Terzolle" on folio 23r of Madrid Ms. II, in one of the overall maps for the project for the Arno Canal passing through Prato - Pistoia.

Today it is a right tributary of the Mugnone, flowing into it at Ponte di San Donato. At the time of Leonardo, the "Rifredi" followed today's Via delle Cascine, flowing directly into the Arno in the zone of Prato del Quercione - Piazzale Kennedy.

Leonardo studies it on map RLW 12678, on folio 271r of the Codex Arundel («When Rifredi strikes against the slow Arno, the Arno's riverbed rises and Rifredi, running fast, consumes it and makes it deepen at once») and in the Codex Leicester (15A-15r).

 

6) "Isola M"

Leonardo describes in RLW 12678 «the island M staiora 825, which at 10 florins per staio equals 8250 florins […]», and indicates the dimensions of the sandbank: «1300 bracci wide is the sandbank here with the 2 widths of the Arno's branches». This is the area to the downstream in today's Cascine Park, where incidentally, in 1325, Castruccio Castracani insulted Florence by organising a race run by prostitutes.

 

7) "Casa di ser Amanzo "

On the banks of "Island M" and at the end of what is drawn in RLW 12677 as an "old road" (which starts at Peretola), Leonardo indicates the "house of Ser Amanzo"; it may be the "island house" mentioned on folio 272v of the Codex Arundel.

 

8) Peretola

Leonardo indicates it at the end of the section of "old road" that, starting at the "house of Ser Amanzo" ran across '"Island M". The village of Peretola was in fact situated on the ancient "post road" that led to Poggio a Caiano, Pistoia and Lucca (and then from Poggio a Caiano to Vinci).

The Prioriate of Santa Maria a Peretola was united, with its vast property, to the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.

At present this area is occupied by the Florence Airport, named for Amerigo Vespucci, whose family came from Peretola.