Delta-wing apparatus

Made by
Università di Firenze, Facoltà di Ingegneria, Dipartimento di Meccanica e Tecnologie industriali, Made by
Etruria Musei

2010

The delta-wing apparatus replicates one of Leonardo’s most original projects on hovering flight, or gliding flight, the fruit of repeated and careful observations of bird flight. The scientist designed a wing that would have allowed the device to fly by exploiting the rising air currents.

The machine, partly similar to the modern hang glider, is equipped with a triangular sail, fixed upon a cross-like structure and held in tension by a metallic border onto which the fabric is sewn. Beneath the sail, the pilot, probably seated on a saddle, can make corrections to the direction of flight using a rudder and a pedal, both connected to the sail with cords. The pilot uses the rudder to maneuver the cords for inclining the wing upward or down, whereas he can make use of the pedal to flex the wing right or left.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Material

Wood, cotton rope, cotton canvas

Measures

Width: 25 cm; Height: 12 cm.

Storage location

Counts Guidi’s castle

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Madrid Codex I, f. 64 r

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Counts Guidi's castle, ground floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/sfoglia/madrid-I/0064-r/

Detail of a mechanical wing

Made by
Istituto Tecnico Professionale “Leonardo da Vinci” di Firenze

1929

Made in 1929 by the Istituto Tecnico Industriale “Leonardo da Vinci” and donated to the Museo Leonardiano in 1938, the model represents a mechanical wing formed by several articulated segments linked using control lines. The structure replicates the anatomy of a bird wing, with bones, sinews, and cartilage.

The three lower control lines have the purpose of flexing, or closing, the wing, while the upper ones activate the command for extension, opening it. For the junctures of the sections and for the control lines, leather and silk thread were used, those materials suggested by Leonardo himself. The design was taken from a drawing in the Codex on the Flight of Birds, compiled by Leonardo at the start of the 1500s, when he was at Florence, dedicating himself passionately to the observation of birds and the study of their flight techniques and bodily structure.

It was during this period that the scientist began to doubt whether human muscles would be able to produce the energy necessary to drive a flying machine with beating wings, leading to his conviction that the sole form of flight practicable for a human was that in which the propulsion would be entrusted entirely to air currents.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Material

Carved/partially painted walnut wood, leather, cotton rope, iron

Measures

Height: 40 cm.

Storage location

Counts Guidi’s castle

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex on the Flight of Birds, f. 11 v

Inventory number

Record n. OA: 00000022

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Counts Guidi's castle, ground floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/codice-sul-volo-degli-uccelli/0011-v/

The self-moving carriage (2010)

Made by
Etruria Musei

2010

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Material

Wood, iron, rope, leather

Measures

Width: 60 cm, Height: 40 cm, Depth: 60 cm.

Storage location

Palazzina Uzielli

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 812 r

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Palazzina Uzielli, second floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/Codex-atlanticus/0812-r/

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Carro a rulli

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Last update: 24 June 2025, 11:50

From gold to brocade

Made by
Giusto Manetti Battiloro

The objects on display were donated by the historic Florentine firm Giusto Manetti Battiloro (Battiloro means gold-beater), which even today continues its activity of weaving precious threads.

In the special paper package, called the “form”, small squares of gold are inserted, which have been cut from a thin ribbon obtained by processing an ingot through a machine known as a rolling mill. The “form” is subjected to the beating process, using hammers of different shapes and weights, which is why the machine is called a gold-beater. Thin leaves of gold are obtained in this manner, which are then cut into the desired size and inserted into booklets of tissue paper.

We can also obtain threads from gold or silver, making use of complex procedures, which can be used in the weaving of precious fabrics, such as the shiny Veronese brocades on display here, reproducing a concept by Giuseppe Lisio, ancestor of the Florentine manufacturer by the same name.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Exhibit

Collection

Textile machinery

Storage location

Palazzina Uzielli

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Palazzina Uzielli, first floor

Spinning wheel with flyer-driven spindle

Made by
Manifattura lucchese

fine XIX° secolo

Toward 1480, the introduction of the flyer-driven spindle, an adaptation of the traditional spinning wheel, represented an innovation in the field of textile manufacturing, making it possible to carry out the spinning process and, at the same time, the winding of the thread on the bobbin.

This technology had been used for centuries with very few changes, as evidenced by this 19th century spinning wheel in which the pedal wheel actuates two pulleys. Since they are of different sizes, the two pulleys transmit movement to both the spindle and the bobbin, but with different speeds: the spindle and the flyer twist the thread, turning slower than the bobbin on which the thread is wound.

The spinner, starting from the farthest hook on the flyer, manually passes the thread onto all the hooks so that it will wrap uniformly on the bobbin. Determined to improve this part of the spinning process, Leonardo designed the continuous flyer-driven spinning machine.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Textile machinery

Material

Mulberry and fir wood, with beech additions

Measures

Height: 37 cm, Width: 35 cm, Depth: 30 cm

Storage location

Palazzina Uzielli

Relationship with the original work

Source: Hausbuch 34 a (two-cord version)

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Palazzina Uzielli, first floor

Leonardo’s mechanics

Made by
Università Sant’Anna di Pisa, Istituto di intelligenza meccanica

2021

The true starting point of the museum journey, the immersive video “Leonardo’s Mechanics” introduces the central theme of the collection. The digital elaboration, featuring a sequence of Leonardo’s drawings presented according to the themes addressed by the museum, reflects Leonardo’s continuous and passionate research on motion and its causes. Every single mechanical element of Leonardo’s projects seems to come to life thanks to the addition of sound elements that translate the individual graphic components into sounds.

Leonardo’s multifaceted activity finds in drawing the main tool for investigation, reflection, ideation, and design: no other contemporary was capable of doing the same. His machine drawings, so modern, current, and effective, continue to amaze and fascinate even today.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Video

Collection

The mechanics of Leonardo

Storage location

Palazzina Uzielli

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Palazzina Uzielli, first floor

Rapid-construction bridge

Made by
IBM Italia

1953

Leonardo carried out numerous projects for solving problems related to crossing watercourses, and the technical solutions he devised still astonish for their modernity and genius. This bridge for military use was designed during the early Milanese period. It could be quickly built by interlocking and weaving together materials that were easily found, such as logs and ropes. Because it was ideal for saving armies in need of escape, Leonardo also called it a “salvation bridge”.

The bridge is able to stand without the use of ropes, since the interlocked trunks perform the function carried out by centerings in architecture. Additionally, some of the wooden planks, anchored on the supporting structure, form a suitable walking surface.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Material

Carved and varnished walnut wood

Measures

Width: 26 cm; Length: 79 cm; Depth: 24 cm.

Storage location

Counts Guidi’s castle

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 69 r

Inventory number

Record n. OA: 00000014

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Counts Guidi's castle, ground floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/Codex-atlanticus/0069-r/

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Multi-level bridge

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1952

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Last update: 10 November 2025, 13:00

Canal bridge with basins

Made by
IBM Italia

1952

Fascinated by the works of hydraulic regulation widespread in Lombardy, while in Milan Leonardo studied solutions for diverting and straightening watercourses. To connect two waterways situated on different levels, he designed this canal bridge with an ingenious system of basins and locks.

The novelty can be seen in the double-leaf doors that close against the water pressure from the current and in the small floodgate allowing water to gradually drain out. When a water vessel reaches the first lock, the floodgate opens and water flows into the basin below until equalizing the water level, thereby allowing the boat to advance. At this point, the hatch in the second lock opens, allowing a slow release of water, and so carrying the watercraft to a lower level. To avoid the formation of eddies from a rush of water at the opening of the doors, Leonardo modulated the height of the basin by means of steps, creating a water ladder aimed at reducing the force of the falling water.

This system was designed around 1503 for the project of diverting the River Arno, commissioned by the City of Florence. It was also utilized in the project for a canal to make the River Adda navigable around the tract known as the Tre Corni.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Material

Partially painted carved wood, iron

Measures

Width: 34.5 cm; Length: 122 cm; Depth: 91.5 cm.

Storage location

Counts Guidi’s castle

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 126 v

Inventory number

Record n. OA: 00000015

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Counts Guidi's castle, ground floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/Codex-atlanticus/0126-v/

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Rapid-construction bridge

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Last update: 10 November 2025, 12:57

Hydraulic saw

Made by
Università di Firenze, Facoltà di Ingegneria, Dipartimento di Meccanica e Tecnologie industriali, Made by
Etruria Musei

2010

During his first stay in Florence, Leonardo designed a hydraulic saw capable of reducing large tree trunks into planks. The machine was designed to work automatically in order to lighten the human workload and increase productivity.

At the base of the machine, in a channel through which water is made to run, we find a paddlewheel similar to one used in a mill. As this moves, it actuates a crankshaft system for transforming rotary motion into reciprocating motion, thus allowing the vertical toothed blade to slide up and down.

At the same time, a pawl mechanism, using movements synchronized with those of the blade, engages with the orthogonal teeth of a ratchet wheel. As the wheel turns, it winds a rope around a drum, the other end of which is tied to the trolley bearing the trunk to be sawn. The pulling of the rope allows the trolley to advance gradually while ensuring that the trunk is constantly in contact with the blade.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Collection

Leonardo in Vinci

Material

Varnished wood, iron

Measures

Width: 98 cm, Height: 87 cm; Depth: 61 cm.

Storage location

Counts Guidi’s castle

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 1078 r

Location

Museo Leonardiano, Counts Guidi's castle, first floor

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/Codex-atlanticus/1078-r/

Swing bridge

Made by
IBM Italia

1952

Leonardo’s notes contain numerous projects aimed at solving the problems related to crossing waterways, and the technical solutions he adopted are astonishing for their modernity and ingenuity.
On folio 855 r of the Codex Atlanticus, a swing bridge with a parabolic profile is depicted, consisting of a single span supported by a series of lattice beams. The bridge is fixed to one of the two banks by a vertical pivot, around which it can be easily rotated 90° using two winches placed laterally on the ground.

The stability of the bridge during the opening maneuver is ensured by a box containing stones, which act as a counterweight until the opposite bank is reached. The side that remains permanently resting on the ground is equipped with wheels or metal rollers, allowing it to slide smoothly.

Technical informations

Type of exhibit

Model

Material

Varnished carved wood, iron, rope

Measures

Width: 97 cm; Length: 163 cm; Depth: 81 cm.

Relationship with the original work

Source: Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 855 r

Location

Museo Leonardiano, storage

Digital archive

https://www.leonardodigitale.com/en/browse/Codex-atlanticus/0855-r/

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1952

Canal bridge with basins

1952

Rapid-construction bridge

1953

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Last update: 18 November 2025, 12:32