Exploring “Museo Leonardo Da Vinci,” in Florence, Italy.

Article by Niya Lloyd

I recently visited Firenze (Florence) Italy for a leisure trip. My goal was to relax, thrift, and eat. I also wanted to experience a form of artistic expression I could absorb without being forced to stand behind a partition and fight for a view. Most traditional museums are costly (this cost roughly eight dollars compared to the average twenty-five dollar museum ticket) and have strict rules about connecting with the artwork. Leonardo Interactive Museum fit the bill.

Figure 1: Map Leading to Museum.

“Locating the building was an experience in itself. The website instructs you to select a viewing time (which lasts between thirty-fifty minutes) and sends you an email pinpointing their location.”

It took some navigating to find, but we were within walking distance from where the taxi dropped us at. After a few minutes we arrived at a small building with a quaint entrance. It boasted a gift shop filled with items adorning the subject and his inventions. We purchased tickets online so we were allowed to bypass the crowd. Thick black curtains guided our way inside the hands-on exhibit. The room was an open floor plan filled with original and recreations architectured and developed by Leonardo daVinci. The models are constructed precisely how he imagined them, and the blueprints are on display as well. The patron is allowed to explore all of the buttons, knobs, clicks and whirs of these machines at their discretion. If you weren’t aware, da Vinci was among many things, but unarguably an engineer whose vision for the future stimulated the mechanics of the world today. View some of his musings below.

Above: Gallery Slideshow depicting Figures 2-6, explored below.

The first image presents a replica of da Vinci’s helicopter, also known as the helical air screw. It could be powered by the strength of four men who would turn levers below to propel the machinery upward. Logically it would have been too heavy and unable to generate enough force to take flight, but the design is still profound.

Leonardo had his own theories about flight and how movement is created and controlled. In the second slideshow image, we can see his model of the bat wing. There is a propeller at the museum which allows the patron to operate the mechanics as he envisioned. Pictured in the third image is another of da Vinci’s exploratory inventions: models of the rhombicuboctahedron, a geometric polyhedron discovered by the aforementioned, are hanging throughout the displays. Also pictured here is Leonardo’s version of a paddle boat. The sketch for this invention was one of many created during his time in Milan, Italy.

The fourth image depicts a few more of his inventions, including the bicycle pictured on the museum wall. The bicycle is a well-known contemporary common mode of transportation used in many parts of the world. Also pictured is a transparent view of Leonardo’s fighting vehicle. Image five sees what may be “the first known robot.” Leonardo created a knight in shining armor who could be propelled forward using mechanics. Inside of his metal suit was a vein-like system of wires that controlled his movements. Also pictured is the canon he designed.

There were no original works of DaVinci’s art on display, but there were representations the patron could view. Some of his original manuscripts were encased and available for viewing. The sixth image displays a model of DaVinci’s flying machine. However, this invention was never constructed by him; it is a contemporary Facsimile. I was able to navigate through the exhibits within the allotted time and without delay or an issue of overcrowding. It was the experience I hoped for, and I capped off my visit with a latte at a quaint cafe across the street. If you are ever in Florence, Italy and would prefer an artistic yet affordable hands-on experience, consider adding Leonardo Interactive Museum to your itinerary.


Niya Lloyd is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Queens University and has self-published several best-selling books on Amazon. Her goal is to redefine the art of storytelling.

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