New rooms, new exhibits, new models. The renovated Museo Leonardiano in Vinci is reopening, housing one of the largest and most original collections of machines and models designed by Leonardo the inventor, the technologist and the engineer.
Ever richer and easier to enjoy, the Museo Leonardiano is the ideal place to discover all Leonardo da Vinci’s secrets and to see first-hand the incredible number of intuitions, ideas and designs the Genius produced throughout his life. The Museo Leonardiano collection captures the imagination of adults and children alike, with its models and virtual reproductions set in a rigorous historical and technological context. The ideal destination for a weekend of art and science amid the rolling hills of Vinci.
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Genius and innovation The new Museum creates added value for Tuscany
The renovation of the Museo Leonardiano, one of the most important collections dedicated to the Genius from Tuscany, is of fundamental importance for the town of Vinci and the surrounding area and marks a further milestone on the path of innovation embarked on by the enterprising museum team. Following the opening of the new museum area in Palazzina Uzielli and the inauguration of Piazza de’ Guidi, redesigned by Mimmo Paladino and from where the new entrance to the museum is accessed, the plans for the renovation of the Museum dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci come to completion with the reopening of the Conti Guidi Castle which now houses an updated and enhanced-access exhibition route. The result is an accessible and even richer Museum, with new content which highlights the Leonardo machines and models and puts them in historical context. Truly a centre of excellence in the town of Vinci and a major tourist attraction for the area. Thanks to the joint financing by the Tuscany Regional Administration and the Municipality of Vinci, plus a donation from the Florence Cassa di Risparmio Bank, Leonardo da Vinci’s machines and inventions on show in the Museum will be even more visible, more well-known and ready to stimulate the curiosity of all visitors.The Genius from Vinci is once again shining forth in the town of his birth.
now fully accessible The historic Museum now meets international standards
The discoveries of the Museo Leonardiano in Vinci are finally open to everyone! The imposing mediaeval fortress in the centre of the town of Vinci, and which was the original home of the Museo Leonardiano, has undergone major renovation work, directed by Studio Jaff of Florence, thanks to which it has been possible to eliminate architectural barriers and bring the rooms up to the accessibility standards of large international museums. The ultimate objective: a modern and accessible Museum. In addition to the extraordinary maintenance works under the control of the Florence Superintendency for Monuments, the project for the upgrading of the Museo Leonardiano required the installation of a lift in the hollow of the walls which connects the ground floor level with the two floors of the Vinci castle. Thus the Castle becomes fully accessible from the easy entrance opened off piazza Guido Masi. Now, thanks to the installation of modern systems, the Leonardo Museum in Vinci is an accessible Museum, in line with the largest museum sites, ready to host the most prestigious exhibitions and collections. A Museum truly worthy of the Genius, both in terms of its contents and its welcome!
In the new Museo Leonardiano in Vinci, the historical collection of Leonardo’s machines is made enhanced by an even more rigorous, comprehensible and contextual presentation of the Genius’s studies during the Renaissance. 3D digital animation and interactive applications complement the reconstructions of Leonardo’s models. The focus of the exhibition is on Leonardo da Vinci’s thinking in the technical-scientific field, ranging from construction sites to the study of physics, from mechanics to architecture and civil engineering. All this is framed by the artists, architects and engineers who were his contemporaries, affording an accurate historical presentation which shows the debts, merits and originality of the Genius from Vinci. The project, overseen and realised by the Museo Leonardiano management, availed itself of the close co-operation of historians, engineers and digital modelling technicians, as well as Italian and international research institutes and university departments, including the vital contribution from the Department of Mechanics and Industrial Technologies of Florence.
Vinci: a new attraction. As of May 22nd, Vinci is presenting a refurbished and enlarged Museo Leonardiano, an accessible and modern museum which offers a unique opportunity to visit the ancient town and the splendid countryside around it. In addition to the incredible collection of Leonardo’s machines, the visitor will find in Vinci a large choice of routes for discovering the Genius amid enchanting surroundings: the places frequented by Leonardo and his family such as the house in Anchiano where he was born, the font in Santa Croce church, the Montalbano paths over which Leonardo roamed high and low, but also the recent tokens through which Vinci chose to pay him homage, such as the wooden sculpture by Mario Ceroli depicting the Vitruvian man, or the equestrian statue by Nina Akamu and the evocative Piazza de’ Guidi designed by Mimmo Paladino. And to follow in Leonardo’s footsteps over the famous landscapes which inspired many of his studies, the Lands of the Renaissance offers for tourists include themed holidays and itineraries, all very close to Florence: Capraia and Limite on the banks of the Arno; Cerreto Guidi, land of the Medici family; the town of Empoli, steeped in art and history; Fucecchio, a castle on the Via Francigena; Montelupo Fiorentino, the town for pottery; and naturally Vinci, the home town of the Genius. Places full of historical and artistic testimony to the Italian Renaissance, a land to be lived in, and of flavours to enjoy.
