The Lands Where Leonardo da Vinci Was Born - A Journey to Anchiano and Vinci

Hello my friends. Today I’ve brought you to the birthplace of one of the greatest geniuses in the world, Leonardo da Vinci’s hometown. The name "da Vinci" is no coincidence. In Italian it means Leonardo from Vinci. In fact da Vinci isn’t a surname but rather a reference to his place of origin. We’re now in a completely rural settlement called Anchiano, where Leonardo da Vinci was born.

Leonardo was born out of wedlock. His father was a notary, but he did not marry Caterina, Leonardo's 15 year old mother. Shortly after, Caterina was married off to someone else and young Leonardo was raised by family members such as his grandfather Antonio and his uncle Francesco. His education was somewhat scattered, which might have contributed to Leonardo not being a very systematic person. He often started projects but left them unfinished. However, he was always open to experimentation, sensitive to innovation and incredibly versatile.

We’ve arrived at the house where Leonardo was born. There’s not much left here now, just the walls, which were restored in the 20th century. Let’s try to see this world through little Leonardo’s eyes.

This isn’t my first time here, but every time I visit I feel a strange sense of loneliness. Leonardo’s father was a loving man who married four times after Caterina. His first wife was childless, so she raised Leonardo as her own. Unfortunately she passed away when Leonardo was only 12. His stepmothers after that weren’t particularly kind to him, so perhaps he felt a bit abandoned. There’s a haunting loneliness and sadness here among these stones and hills, yet it’s astonishing that such a genius emerged from this environment.

You’ve seen the museum, there’s not much to it. It’s more of a symbolic place, important for walking on the same stones Leonardo once walked on and breathing the same air. There are countless fascinating stories about Leonardo.

We continued our journey to the town of Vinci. There, we visited a museum dedicated to Leonardo’s inventions and creativity.

Vinci is a burg or a walled settlement. It’s beautiful with its historical texture, though it feels a bit artificial in terms of modern art. The museum showcases models of Leonardo’s various inventions. For example, there are designs for clock mechanisms and looms. One room houses a mechanical spinning machine, while another displays designs related to construction, heavy lifting and cranes. Some of his drawings are quick sketches, while others are more detailed.

Leonardo was also deeply interested in anatomical research. He was the first to understand that the heart is a pump and how blood circulates through our bodies.

Further along there are different mechanisms, though I haven’t fully grasped all of them yet. The museum is essentially like a book explaining Leonardo’s work and engineering projects. What’s more interesting here is the medieval atmosphere and the lively exhibits.

The tower has many intriguing sections. There are diagrams explaining what was happening in Europe and during the Italian Renaissance. And Leonardo’s military inventions are on display. For instance, fire bombs, armored vehicles (similar to modern tanks), bridges designed for rivers with currents flowing in opposite directions and ladders for scaling fortress walls that couldn’t be pushed back due to a special locking mechanism.

Then we moved on to a more peaceful section: Leonardo’s flying machine designs. Inspired by studying birds in flight, he tried to develop mechanical wings. There’s an interesting story: near Florence, in the town of Fiesole, he supposedly had some accidents while trying to get his assistants to fly. Of course, this is likely just a legend.

Leonardo also developed devices to measure wind and water speed. Or take this olive oil press machine. And here’s a hydraulic-powered saw. One of the boats here moves using wind power.

This is an amphibious vehicle, designed to operate both on land and sea. Leonardo was an extraordinary genius. He made contributions in art, engineering, anatomy, paleontology… You name it! He was also an amazing chef, musician and philosopher. Truly a 360 degree personality!

Here’s a drawing on display, Leonardo’s first known signed and dated work, created in 1473. He was also interested in paleontology. Here are some of the brushes, inks and pigments he used.

I should mention that Leonardo spent his early years here. Later,when his family moved to Florence, he joined Andrea del Verrocchio’s workshop. Verrocchio was Leonardo’s only teacher and one of his most important supporters.

Thank you for reading my post! I hope you enjoyed it and that exploring the places where Leonardo spent his early years has piqued your interest.