Leonardiana library

The founding of the Leonardiana library in the early 20th century is closely linked to Gustavo Uzielli, one of the foremost Leonardo da Vinci scholars of the late 19th century. His efforts, together with those of the Vinci Administration, to establish a Vincian Library in Leonardo’s hometown came to fruition in 1928, following the acquisition by the Municipality of Vinci of Uzielli’s private Leonardo collection.

In recent decades, the International Leonardian Bibliography project (BIL) has transformed the Library’s role from a traditional documentary center into a bibliographic information hub for Leonardian studies. The bibliographic catalog is systematically updated and includes various thematic bibliographies, some dedicated to past key figures in Leonardo studies.

Moreover, in collaboration with important Italian and international institutions, the Leonardiana library has developed one of the most innovative consultation tools available today for scholars and enthusiasts: the e-Leo portal. This digital archive allows users to consult thousands of pages taken from Leonardo’s manuscripts. The portal’s features enable users not only to zoom in on pages but also to perform text searches and read both the transcription in the original language and the English translation.

Among the resources available are also works by other authors, such as Bonaccorso Ghiberti and Francesco di Giorgio Martini, making the portal a starting point for the study of late medieval and Renaissance technical-scientific texts.

Open daily to the public for consultation, the Library is alsoopen for visits by appointment for schools and groups, who can thus discover firsthand Leonardo’s handwritten works reproduced in true-to-life facsimiles.