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A genius out of time - Leonardo da Vinci

History has had many illustrious personalities with which to fill its pages: soldiers, scientists, artists, architects ... so on and so forth.

Without these men and women of genius minds, humanity would not have been able to progress and civilize itself. It is only thanks to their curiosity, their resourcefulness and their tenacity that great achievements and important discoveries have been made, which otherwise would have remained in the shadow of ignorance for who knows how long.

It was certainly not an easy life for these geniuses.

Many of them only gained respect very late in their life - or even after their death - as their ideas or plans were ostracized by those who did not have enough faith in their abilities or who did not believe in their vision at all. In earlier times, many of these reasons were influenced by religious beliefs or determined by the actions of jealous gossips who wanted to see them fail.

It is a situation that has repeated itself very often and it is no surprise that there have been moments of renunciation ... but luckily these geniuses did not allow themselves to be discouraged and continued in what they believed until the achievement of triumph.

What contributed to the success of these people was above all the courage to overcome their limits, and some, once they did this, never stopped. As in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, for example.

Many recognize his fame stopping only on his career as a painter thanks to works such as "La Gioconda" or "The Last Supper" ... but this man was much more than the author of these works.

 

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most incredible individuals who have ever walked this earth (not for nothing is he Italian, like me😉). Of this man it is easier to say what he was not: first established himself as a scientist, he then also made himself known as a philosopher, architect, painter, sculptor, draftsman, essayist, set designer, mathematician, anatomist, botanist and musician, engineer and designer .

With these references, it is easy to understand why he has become an immortal icon and is categorically studied in school. Perhaps it will be wrong to say that he was the only great genius that history has seen ... but certainly others like him have not been.

We could define it as a kind of Ludwig von Drake of the fifteenth century, in my opinion it is spot on as a comparison.

Leonardo was a man who wanted to learn everything and deepen the aspects of a still evolving culture, aware that the world around him hid many secrets and beauties yet to be discovered, as well as get involved in learning not exactly simple subjects. His curiosity was not in vain, on the contrary! In each of those subjects in which he threw himself into studying, he developed tools and wrote very important documents for the time, which then became the basis of today's studies: for example, he was the first to represent the interior of the human body with a series of drawings and in addition; he also designed machines for the use of hydraulic energy, for draining and for raising water.

 

It is therefore not surprising that today we continue to talk about him and study his life.

It has left a very deep mark on history and culture that cannot be easily ignored.

For this reason (and many others), some consider Leonardo da Vinci to be an alien. There are still many mysteries about this man that vacillate between science fiction and the absurd, some linked to his genius while others to his personal life. Not for nothing, many writers use it for novels full of mystery, suspense and conspiracies, as in the now well-known Da Vinci Code.

Leaving aside the arcane side, it is fortunate that today we can admire with our eyes most of the works created by this genius. I am speaking of his works already mentioned at the beginning of the article, but also of his inventions which are probably; an incredible testament to his genius.

Leonardo designed or improved a large number of contraptions of all kinds, from war machines to everyday objects, and even artifacts that looked like science fiction at the time, such as flying machines, automobiles or diving suits. The most complete collection of his inventions that is preserved is the Codex Atlanticus, the original edition of which is kept at the Ambrosiana Library in Milan and consists of 1751 drawings.

A good part of Leonardo's inventions were used for war purposes. In Renaissance Italy, wars were constant and the machines he proposed could be a very important advantage. Of the twelve points he mentions in his letter to Ludovico Sforza, nine refer to war, and he even offers to give him a practical demonstration to convince him. Undoubtedly his most famous war machine is the armored vehicle, often called "Leonardo's tank", but it was never used due to its poor maneuverability.

But not all of his inventions were meant to destroy. Leonardo also developed mechanisms to automate some heavy tasks such as cutting firewood, forging metals or grinding grain. One of the most famous practical machines is the jib crane, which could lift heavy objects without having to place them right under the tool. *

[The fabulous inventions of Leonardo da Vinci / Historian:https://www.storicang.it/a/le-favolose-invenzioni-di-leonardo-da-vinci_15168/4]

 

If you want to come into contact with some of these incredible works, know that in Florence, Rome and Venice there are museums dedicated to Leonardo's inventions, faithfully represented following the original sketches, where adults and children can get to know the inventiveness of the person in depth. who made them.

So, if you want to increase your culture a little, try to spend some of your time to get to know this genius of yesteryear better.

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