1. Leonardo da Vinci -konstnär och ingenjör-

2. Leonardo´s biografi LEONARDO'S LIV F ö dd: 15:e April å r 1452. D ö d: 2:a May 1519. Han blev 67 å r. Den 15:e april 1452 i Anchiano, en liten stad n ä ra Vinci, f ö ddes Leonardo. Man k ä nner till v ä ldigt lite om hans mor, hennes namn var Caterina och han f ö ddes utom ä ktenskapligt. Pappan kom fr å n en familj som bestod av notaries. Leonardo v ä xte upp hemma och fostrades huvudsakligen av de som stod honom n ä rmast, farmor och styvmamma. In the countryside around Vinci, Leonardo began to be interested in nature, observing the flight of birds and the workings of windmills. But before too long, after the death of Ser Piero's father, the family moved to Florence where young Leonardo began a respectable career, though with little success. In that period Florence was an open-air workshop: architectural and artistic works were underway everywhere, and Leonardo was drawn into the happenings in the artists' workshops surrounding him. Therefore Ser Piero decided to send his son to one of the most well known workshops of the period: Verrocchio's. There, Leonardo remained for eight years. Due to his marked pictorial talents, he was already taking part in the Company of Artists in 1472. In this period he collaborated with his teacher on many works. 1482 signaled for Leonardo the beginning of a series of trips that brought him to visit many Italian courts and even that of the French King Louis XII. His stay at the court of Ludovico Sforza, where he acted as engineer, architect, sculptor, artist, and singer extended until 1499. It was in this period that Leonardo painted some of his most famous works: The Last Supper and The Virgin of the Rocks.

3. At the same time he was also intensifying his studies of machinery, architecture, hydraulics, city planning and anatomy, passing entire nights in the mortuaries of hospitals. After the fall of the dukedom, Leonardo began a period of wandering which carried him to Mantova and Venice. A year later he was back in Florence, and afterwards he entered into the service of Cesare Borgia as military engineer. Between 1503 and 1505 Leonardo returned to Florence where he began his most famous work: La Gioconda (The Mona Lisa). In 1506 he was again in Milan where he dedicated himself full-time to scientific speculation, studies in biology and physics, anatomical research, hydraulics, and geophysical mathematics. These studies also continued during his stay in Rome. In 1517 the son of the king of France Francis I, who appreciated Leonardo's great talent, called him to the French court. Here, Leonardo passed the last years of his life. He died in Cloux on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67 and was buried at the church of Saint-Florentin in Amboise. In his will, Leonardo left all of his writings to his favourite student Francesco Melzi, while to his other pupil, Salai, he left the paintings still in his studio, among these La Gioconda. This is the summary of an exceptional life, intense and of prodigious activity, of which remain few paintings and a great number of writings and drawings, fragments of studies and unordered notebooks.

4. FLYGMEKANISMER

5. This model with conical tubes was developed by Da Vinci in order to check that the wind pressure that makes the wheels turn is proportional to the opening of the cones through which the air flows, given the same force of the wind. Anemometer with blades (funnel)

6. Ornithopter The idea of the ornithopter, i.e. the flying machine with wings like a bird ’ s, is sketched in this drawing with extreme technical precision: the pilot lies face down on the platform, is tied to it by means of straps, then pushes the pedals with his/her feet thus operating the complex set of devices that make the wings bend and twist.

7. Wing study This study of a joint wing, similar to that of a bat, displays only solid cloth stretched onto a framework made of wood and reeds.

8. Aerial screw You can admire this miniature reproduction of one of the most famous projects born from Leonardo's genius. The model has been rebuilt observing the smallest details from the spring loaded by the push of four men, up to the flywheel that rendered the duration of the spin longer.

9. Krigsf ö ring tekniska l ö sningar Though he hated war and who fought it, Leonardo had to become a military engineer in order to be accepted at court. The machine you will see will help you to understand that already during the Renaissance some weapons were so destructive and ferocious.

10. Mowing cart This drawing made by Leonardo Da Vinci displays a horse-driven cart with rotating sickles controlled by an ingenious transmission device that is connected, by means of a shaft, to a “ pinwheel- lantern pinion ” mechanism, directly linked to the motion of the cart wheels

11. Ship with sickle (Escorpio) By means of a covering system, the ship can move and be manoeuvred without danger. The sickle is mounted on a wooden pole moved by a pinwheel and tears the sails of enemy ships with a 360-degree rotation.

12. Tank Da Vinci developed a heavy tank, in the shape of a testudo, armed with cannons all around. It is set in motion by a train of gears connected to the wheels and controlled by means of cranks by 8 men placed inside it.

13. Assault techniques Among the techniques used to attack enemy walls, Da Vinci portrayed, in his usual vivid and evocative way, the use of hooks and belts that enable climbers to achieve their objectives using techniques which are very similar to those so often seen in contemporary action films.

14. Naval cannon Sea warfare was one of Da Vinci ’ s main passions. This drawing displays a large mortar, operated by just one sailor and mounted onto a turning platform, capable of spewing vast amount of smoke and incendiary shells on the unfortunate enemy ships.

15. Trench excavator This is one the numerous drawings concerning military architecture sketched by the “ genius ” while he held the post of “ general architect and engineer ”, conferred to him by Duke Valentino Borgia. It displays a machine to excavate trenches, which is set in motion by means of weights and counterweights and can operate almost automatically.

16. Arched bridge This is one of the “ extra light and strong ” bridges Da Vinci had promised in his letters to Ludovico Il Moro. They could be easily assembled and were used chiefly for military purposes. Rivers were no longer an obstacle and troops could be moved quickly and unexpectedly thus allowing for surprise attacks, which were often fundamental to the outcome of a battle.

17. Surrounding wall defense system The enemy has just surpassed the moat that runs around the surrounding wall and is ready to give the final assault. Going back to the 16th century, you will discover the stratagems used for defense from an attack.

18. War chariot to attack the surrounding wall You may find it incredible, during your visit at the exhibition, that the following model is an improvement or a solution of the preceding one. If the opposing surrounding wall had had a system to reject the enemy's ladders, thanks to this wagon, the problem would be solved.

19. Mortar This model never reproduced by any other museum, is not one of Leonardo's inventions, but the studies and the principles that he applies, are. The never ending screw situated under the mortar allows the regulation of the jet.

20. Missiles Undoubtly innovative, missiles are the confirmation of the laws that Leonardo states regarding the influence of the currents on them. A tapering shape, small wings to give the flight stability and holes in the balls shot from the cannon so as to be filled with gunpowder; the same balls that the English used in the victorious Waterloo battle.

21. Escalator Thil model is used to attack enemy fortifications in a simple way and at the same time it is easy to move. You will be surprised at the sight of this machine, thinking about its up-to- dateness.

22. Catapult Among the oldest war machines, the elastic shapes fascinated Leonardo who drew many of them in his codes. Even if at first there doesn't seem to be anything new, you will find small innovations applied to this model, such as the self-blocking mechanism that allows to easily load the weapon, avoiding the risk that the boulder could be flung ahead of time.

23. MEKANISKA LÖSNINGAR It was during his youth that Leonardo approached the studying of mechanics, fascinated by the big cranes created by Brunelleschi for the building of the Cathedral dome of Florence. But Leonardo wanted to go further, anticipating over two centuries the industrial revolution creating wholly automatic machines, in order to lighten man's labour.

24. Two leaf spring car Extremely famous drawing, which has been nicknamed “ Da Vinci ’ s car ”. It was most likely used for stage performances, it is equipped with three wheels and a steering column. For a long time, experts thought that its motion relied upon two leaf springs, while we now know that the device can move thanks to coiled springs placed under the wheels.

25. Automaton or robot One of Da Vinci ’ s most curious drawings portrays the mechanism of an automaton in medieval armour, which, besides being used for theatrical purposes, was also used during a royal reception. On that occasion, several automatons were placed in a line and thanks to a special controlling device raised their arms to greet the king.

26. Tongs In order to lift and move building materials or any other weight, Leonardo Da Vinci decided to improve the mechanism based on a series of tongs. The rope ’ s traction triggers the grip, which becomes stronger as the height increases and is automatically released when the object touches the ground.

27. Vertical drill This drawing shows a hydraulic drill whose underlying mechanical concept is similar to that of today ’ s drills. The device was operated by two men who, according to the depth it must reach, would add poles connected to the perforating metal head.

28. Crane with central winch This machine is one of the many cranes Da Vinci studied while he was living in Florence. He tried to improve existing cranes especially those designed by Brunelleschi

29. Crane with ring platform As a young man, Da Vinci had studied a wide number of devices used to lift weights. In Florence there were building sites everywhere and Brunelleschi himself had designed some cranes in order to build the dome of the Cathedral. As a consequence, Da Vinci also decided to design several cranes to lift heavy weights.

30. Cart with differential gear This drawing displays the device for the transmission of motion to the axle of a cart. A crank turns the gearwheel that engages the lantern pinion linked to the axle of the cart and increases its speed. The motion is transmitted to one wheel only thus allowing the other one to move at a different speed when entering a turn.

31. Column riser This is a typical example of simplifying man's work: a series of screws, help a column to rise in a simple and safe way and place it upon its base.

32. Multispeed windlass The exploitation of labour on animals, in this case oxen and horses, helps man not to tire himself using this windlass for weight- lifting. Despite the complexity of the design and model even this one is totally functioning, and all the rules of construction dictated by Leonardo are respected.

33. File carver It is possible to see the hammer beating on the file while it whithdraws, in a completely automatic way. A true example of industrial revolution, since all the files produced by this model are identical

34. Hodometer To render the plane measuring system faster, Leonardo created this machine that thanks to a series of toothed wheels, make a small sphere fall at a fixed distance.

35. Bicycle Our craftsmen have worked with great wheel to make sure that this model would be the closest to the one drawn by Leonardo on the Atlantic code. This model, as all the other ones, is perfectly functioning.

36. Brunelleschi crane Since his youth, Leonardo had always been fascinated by the big cranes designed by Brunelleschi and used to build the Cathedral dome of Florence. Many cranes appear in the codes.

37. HYDRAULIK Even water as an element, belongs to Leonardo's studies. Nothing is left behind: the study of hydrodynamics, the one of the power of water applied to its machines, means used for the offense and defense in the sea up to the creation of instruments to explore and work in the depths.

38. Hydraulic saw Water as motive power is one of the basic principles of technology before, during, and after Leonardo Da Vinci ’ s age, up until fairly recent times.

39. Boat with blades Blades were often used in order to increase the navigation speed of vessels. The blades were at times of very big size and were powered by muscular force and not yet by steam, as would happen at the time of the industrial revolution

40. Movable bridge Leonardo Da Vinci left several examples of movable bridges, drawn throughout his career as a military engineer. The bridges could be used immediately at need.

41. Dredger Using man's strength but even that of water, this model's paddles dig the bottom of the channel and clean it. The dredger had a sort of pontoon behind itself in order to discharge mud and the waste picked up.

42. Double hull craft If Leonardo draws enforced bulbs to stave in the keels of the enemy crafts for the offense at the same time is cautious to design double hull ships, so that if they would be attacked and rammed, they had watertight compartments that would allow the ship to keep afloat.

43. Floating skis The wish to dominate all the elements that surround man, bring Leonardo to study means that allow man to easily move on water surface.

44. Diver If there should still be any doubt Leonardo's inventiveness, the study of the diver shows how he was ahead of time; he applies two tubes with a membrane to the mask so that one is for inspiring and the other for exhaling. One tube wouldn't be enough because it would fill up with carbon dioxide and suffocate the diver

45. Archimedean screw The name already designates this model's paternity. It is possible to find drawings and project in the various codes belonging to Leonardo, who, applying his brilliant intuitions, makes sure that the movement of the screw is completely automatic, so that it supplies running water.

46. Flywheel In order to overcome points of inertia and to increase momentum, Leonardo Da Vinci drew a series of flywheels, either equipped with wheels or provided with weights. Pulleys This drawing connected to clockwork studies, with weight movement rather than spring movement, displays a system of pulleys used to control the descent of the weight and to shorten the space necessary to unwind the rope.

47. Chamber of mirrors Optics is among the various scientific fields Da Vinci investigated during his life. This chamber has eight sides, all of which are covered internally by a mirror. By placing an object inside the chamber, one could see it completely from all sides without having to move.

48. Helical mechanism In order to overcome the “ weaknesses ” of the gearwheel-lantern pinion for the transmission of motion, Leonardo turned to a stronger mechanism that combines a worm screw with a gearwheel.

49. Connecting rod A connecting rod is a mechanical member, placed between two pieces of a machine in order to transform reciprocating rectilinear motion into continuous rotary motion. The most striking feature of Da Vinci ’ s drawing is the high quality of the illustration, maybe originally designed to be turned into an etching and to be printed.

50. Gearbox The drawing shows two pinions (one conical and one cylindrical), which transmit motion to gearwheels of different diameters. Each has its own speed, corresponding to the time it takes to complete a full rotation. In principle, this system is the same as that of gearboxes on modern cars.

51. Lantern gear Among the most common devices for the transmission of motion in Leonardo ’ s mechanics is the combination gearwheel – lantern pinion. Da Vinci remarked, however, that breaking due to excessive weight, in turn leading to adverse motion, was possible.