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Photo: Scientific Itineraries in Tuscany

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RLW 12685. - Map of northwestern Tuscany (from Florence to Barga, Ripafratta and Bientina) with studies for deviating the Arno into the Florence Canal through Prato, Pistoia and Serravalle, c. 1503.

RLW 12685. - Map of northwestern Tuscany (from Florence to Barga, Ripafratta and Bientina) with studies for deviating the Arno into the Florence Canal through Prato, Pistoia and Serravalle, c. 1503.

Alessandro Vezzosi

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RLW 12679. - Studies on the course of the Arno upstream of Florence (between the Mensola and Affrico torrents), c. 1503. Transcriptions: "Mill dj badja / mensola / ancient mill / (p)anzano / varlungho / ancient mill / the break / ancient mill / chasacce / bixarno / rotta / ricorbolj / africho / mill on the side". Other annotations: "This sandbank is 1000 braccia at its widest point and 2000 long / here the Arno overflows in times of high water / bisarno 2100 braccia long and 800 braccia wide / this sandbank is 700 braccia wide and 1550 braccia long".

RLW 12680. - Bird's-eye view of the ferryboat and a dam on the Arno, at the Rotta, c. 1503.

RLW 12681. - Schematic, idealized plan of Florence (with list of the ports of Milan presumably added by Francesco Melzi), c. 1515.

RLW 12682. - Bird's-eye view of Arezzo and the Val di Chiana with measurement of distances, c. 1502. This prospective view, sketched with signs of visual trajectories and chiaroscuro effects, should date from the time when Leonardo remained in Valdichiana during the rebellion of Arezzo, sustained by Vitellozzo Vitelli, one of Cesare Borgia's generals, against Florence. It was the spring/summer of that same 1502 in which, as documented by the dates and annotations of Ms. L, Leonardo travelled as far as the Marche and through Romagna. This is a first elaboration, in mirror writing, of a detail from map RLW 12278. It is an exemplary example of how Leonardo "constructed" a representation midway between a drawing of landscape done from nature and a topographical map proper, in a bird's-eye view re-invention; and of how he synthesized a view of perspective space and the measurement of distances. Downstream of Cortona appears – here as on map RLW 12278 – the path of the watercourse that joins the Chiana basin to Lake Trasimeno; in RLW 12277 Leonardo notes that this connection had been closed by Braccio da Montone (in the first half of the 15th century) and it is probable that he intended to restore it with a course not very different from that of today's Mucchia torrent. Interesting as regards methodology are the directrixes radiating out from Arezzo. The dimensions of the "Ponte a Pietra" and the "Ponte alla Nave", almost in the form of a dam, seem exaggerated here. Significant in the valley are the indication of Foiano and the central position of the "Brolio hill", overlooking the lake and port of the same name. The Brolio Lake was the object, starting from the first half of the 14th century, of various initiatives aimed at stabilising the water basin, improving the ecosystem and favouring fishing, culminating in the construction of the "Chiusa dei Monaci" (the Monks' Dam), a remarkable work of hydraulic engineering to control the outflow of the Chiana into the Arno.

RLW 12683. - Bird's-eye map of western Tuscany with the coastline from Campiglia and San Vincenzo to Lucca, and with the surroundings of Pisa, Livorno, Volterra and the Valdera, c. 1503.

RLW 12685. - Map of northwestern Tuscany (from Florence to Barga, Ripafratta and Bientina) with studies for deviating the Arno into the Florence Canal through Prato, Pistoia and Serravalle, c. 1503.

RLW 19076r. - "... On the boundaries of shadows, some of which are blurred with indefinite boundaries, others of clear boundaries. Serving for the latter are the shadows of the figures appearing in the writing-desk of Gerardo the illuminator at San Marco in Florence", c. 1513.

RLW 19076v. - "This old man, a few hours before his death, told me that he had lived one hundred years and that he was conscious of no bodily failure other than great weakness. And thus sitting on a bed in the hospital of S. Maria Nuova, without any movement or sign of distress, he passed from this life. And I made an anatomy to see the cause of a such a gentle death; which I found to have been caused by weakness through failure of the blood and the artery that feeds the heart and lower members, which I found to be very dry and shrunk and withered. I described this anatomy very diligently and with great ease, due to the lack of fat or humours, which greatly hinder recognition of the parts. The other anatomy was on a two-year-old child, in which I found everything exactly the opposite that of the old man"

RLW 19114v. - "I have seen a lion licking a lamb in our city of Florence, where twenty-five or thirty lions are kept and where they reproduce. And that lion in a few licks tore off all of the lamb's pelt, and having denuded it in this way, he ate it...", c. 1506.

RLW 19106v . - Among the folios of anatomical studies, Leonardo notes on this one, datable to 1508-1510, experiments on the analogy between hydraulics and acoustics. In particular, he speaks of an experiment to be conducted at home, returning to observations on a barrel at Campi Bisenzio: "You will have heard that, in the portion of a wave of air that passes through a narrow opening, a human voice is closed in, as I saw at Campi one that was closed into a cask open at the bunghole (an opening made in the barrel at the point of its maximum diameter, where the bung is inserted).

Detail showing Vinci, Vitolini, Sant'Ansano and Collegonzi in the "Leonardo restored" map (from RLW 12685).

Telemaco Signorini, "View of the Castle of Vinci with the Doccia and the town", 1872.

Aerial view of the castle and town of Vinci, with Leonardo's father's house (below, at centre).

Aerial view of the territory of Vinci, "aerial frame", 1999.

Entrance to the Baptistery outside the church of Santa Croce.

The Baptistery in the church of Santa Croce.

Ancient baptismal font traditionally held to be the one where Leonardo was baptised, Church of Santa Croce, Vinci.

The church of Santa Croce in the early 20th century prior to its rebuilding.

Entrance to the Biblioteca Leonardiana.

Biblioteca Comunale Leonardiana, Vinci.

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Last update 14/mar/2008

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RLW 12679. - Studies on the course of the Arno upstream of Florence (between the Mensola and Affrico torrents), c. 1503. Transcriptions: "Mill dj badja / mensola / ancient mill / (p)anzano / varlungho / ancient mill / the break / ancient mill / chasacce / bixarno / rotta / ricorbolj / africho / mill on the side". Other annotations: "This sandbank is 1000 braccia at its widest point and 2000 long / here the Arno overflows in times of high water / bisarno 2100 braccia long and 800 braccia wide / this sandbank is 700 braccia wide and 1550 braccia long".

RLW 12680. - Bird's-eye view of the ferryboat and a dam on the Arno, at the Rotta, c. 1503.

RLW 12681. - Schematic, idealized plan of Florence (with list of the ports of Milan presumably added by Francesco Melzi), c. 1515.

RLW 12682. - Bird's-eye view of Arezzo and the Val di Chiana with measurement of distances, c. 1502. This prospective view, sketched with signs of visual trajectories and chiaroscuro effects, should date from the time when Leonardo remained in Valdichiana during the rebellion of Arezzo, sustained by Vitellozzo Vitelli, one of Cesare Borgia's generals, against Florence. It was the spring/summer of that same 1502 in which, as documented by the dates and annotations of Ms. L, Leonardo travelled as far as the Marche and through Romagna. This is a first elaboration, in mirror writing, of a detail from map RLW 12278. It is an exemplary example of how Leonardo "constructed" a representation midway between a drawing of landscape done from nature and a topographical map proper, in a bird's-eye view re-invention; and of how he synthesized a view of perspective space and the measurement of distances. Downstream of Cortona appears – here as on map RLW 12278 – the path of the watercourse that joins the Chiana basin to Lake Trasimeno; in RLW 12277 Leonardo notes that this connection had been closed by Braccio da Montone (in the first half of the 15th century) and it is probable that he intended to restore it with a course not very different from that of today's Mucchia torrent. Interesting as regards methodology are the directrixes radiating out from Arezzo. The dimensions of the "Ponte a Pietra" and the "Ponte alla Nave", almost in the form of a dam, seem exaggerated here. Significant in the valley are the indication of Foiano and the central position of the "Brolio hill", overlooking the lake and port of the same name. The Brolio Lake was the object, starting from the first half of the 14th century, of various initiatives aimed at stabilising the water basin, improving the ecosystem and favouring fishing, culminating in the construction of the "Chiusa dei Monaci" (the Monks' Dam), a remarkable work of hydraulic engineering to control the outflow of the Chiana into the Arno.

RLW 12683. - Bird's-eye map of western Tuscany with the coastline from Campiglia and San Vincenzo to Lucca, and with the surroundings of Pisa, Livorno, Volterra and the Valdera, c. 1503.

RLW 12685. - Map of northwestern Tuscany (from Florence to Barga, Ripafratta and Bientina) with studies for deviating the Arno into the Florence Canal through Prato, Pistoia and Serravalle, c. 1503.

RLW 19076r. - "... On the boundaries of shadows, some of which are blurred with indefinite boundaries, others of clear boundaries. Serving for the latter are the shadows of the figures appearing in the writing-desk of Gerardo the illuminator at San Marco in Florence", c. 1513.

RLW 19076v. - "This old man, a few hours before his death, told me that he had lived one hundred years and that he was conscious of no bodily failure other than great weakness. And thus sitting on a bed in the hospital of S. Maria Nuova, without any movement or sign of distress, he passed from this life. And I made an anatomy to see the cause of a such a gentle death; which I found to have been caused by weakness through failure of the blood and the artery that feeds the heart and lower members, which I found to be very dry and shrunk and withered. I described this anatomy very diligently and with great ease, due to the lack of fat or humours, which greatly hinder recognition of the parts. The other anatomy was on a two-year-old child, in which I found everything exactly the opposite that of the old man"

RLW 19114v. - "I have seen a lion licking a lamb in our city of Florence, where twenty-five or thirty lions are kept and where they reproduce. And that lion in a few licks tore off all of the lamb's pelt, and having denuded it in this way, he ate it...", c. 1506.

RLW 19106v . - Among the folios of anatomical studies, Leonardo notes on this one, datable to 1508-1510, experiments on the analogy between hydraulics and acoustics. In particular, he speaks of an experiment to be conducted at home, returning to observations on a barrel at Campi Bisenzio: "You will have heard that, in the portion of a wave of air that passes through a narrow opening, a human voice is closed in, as I saw at Campi one that was closed into a cask open at the bunghole (an opening made in the barrel at the point of its maximum diameter, where the bung is inserted).

Detail showing Vinci, Vitolini, Sant'Ansano and Collegonzi in the "Leonardo restored" map (from RLW 12685).

Telemaco Signorini, "View of the Castle of Vinci with the Doccia and the town", 1872.

Aerial view of the castle and town of Vinci, with Leonardo's father's house (below, at centre).

Aerial view of the territory of Vinci, "aerial frame", 1999.

Entrance to the Baptistery outside the church of Santa Croce.

The Baptistery in the church of Santa Croce.

Ancient baptismal font traditionally held to be the one where Leonardo was baptised, Church of Santa Croce, Vinci.

The church of Santa Croce in the early 20th century prior to its rebuilding.

Entrance to the Biblioteca Leonardiana.

Biblioteca Comunale Leonardiana, Vinci.