Project Description
Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Tuscany
Just an hour away from Florence lies Vinci, a town whose name immediately brings to mind the great genius of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci. The extraordinary inventor was born right here on April 15, 1452, among the olive groves and vineyards that still characterize the landscape of this small town, visited every year by many tourists driven by the curiosity to discover the places that inspired his sensational works.
Photographs published courtesy of the Leonardo Museum in Vinci
The main attractions of the place include the church of Santa Croce, dating back to the thirteen-century, which still today houses the original baptismal font where Leonardo was baptized and the Castello dei Conti Guidi, known as “The Castle of the ship” due to its elongated architecture, similar to a boat. Since 1953, this castle has proudly housed the Leonardo Museum, one of the largest collections in the world centered on the Tuscan genius. With over 200 original models and designs by the master, each reproduction offers precise references to the sketches and handwritten annotations.
The machines on display range from different fields of study, as it is the vast and multifaceted quantity of the artist’s drawings. The Leonardian Library, inside the Castle, remains one of the leading institutions for Leonardo da Vinci’s specialists and connoisseurs, with over 13,000 pieces including works on Leonardo and some made by Leonardo himself. Immersed in the Tuscan countryside and surrounded by terraced olive groves and vineyards, Vinci is also the home of a vast food and wine tradition. Among the famous delicious products from the territory, you will teste the exquisite salami known as “finocchiona” or the salty yet excellent cheeses such as Tuscan pecorino, but also honey and extra virgin olive oil, the latter known as the culinary gold of this land.