For Italy, and for much of the world, this is Leonardo da Vinci’s year – the five hundredth anniversary of the death, as treasured guest of King Francis I at the castle of Amboise, of perhaps the greatest polymath genius the world has known.

We had already visited an exhibition on Leonardo’s first teacher, Verrocchio, at Florence’s Strozzi palace, described at https://longoio3.com/2019/05/14/leonardo-da-vincis-first-teacher/ and were keen to revisit his birthplace among the lovely hills of Monte Albano.

Vinci is easily reached from either Florence or Lucca and makes a truly pleasant break on one’s journey between the two cities. The old town is built around the eleventh century castle of the Guidi Counts which contains an excellent collection of models based on the master’s drawings and shows the multiplicity of his interests whether they be directed towards communications (canals, bridges, helicopters and other flying machines) defence (machine guns, tanks, or mechanics (pulleys, gears.)

Of items actually by Leonardo’s hand we came across this beautiful sketch.

It’s the earliest known drawing by him, dated August 5, 1473 and is on loan from Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. It shows the valley of the Arno and Montelupo Castle so well-known to the artist as the scene of his childhood walks and explorations. It also happens to be the first purely landscape drawing of any western artist.

During these walks Leonardo collected a profusion of items from flowers, leaves, fossils, oddly-shaped pieces of wood and animals. One case presents items Leonardo had picked up and which he drew.

The castle’s courtyard has a garden in which a wood sculpture by Mario Ceroli of Leonardo’s celebrated take on Vitruvian man is displayed.

Incidentally, there is another sculpture of Leonardo’s Vitruvian man displayed in London’s Belgrave Square near the Italian Institute of Culture where my wife’s father was Secretary-General.

And here is Leonardo’s original drawing:

Our museum ticket included admission to the farm-house where Leonardo, an illegitimate child, was brought up by his wet-nurse. It’s a short distance uphill from the town. Here we met the man himself in holographic form reminiscing, at the end of his life at Amboise, on his life and thoughts. Leonardo’s last words were about how much he missed his native hills and his beloved Florence which he would never see again.

For it was in Vinci that Leonardo was baptised at the font of Santa Croce parish church.

Also comprised in our ticket was an exhibition in a nearby aristocratic villa on Leonardo’s paintings. Although no actual pictures from the artist’s hand were on show the reproductions, particularly of his masterpiece of the Last Supper, painted for Milan’s convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, were very well done.

It was truly lovely to be once more enfolded by the beautiful landscape of the Monte Albano hills which were dramatically enhanced by the magnificent clouds these days of tormented meteorological conditions have given us.