Itineraries in the Florentine area

Based on present knowledge and thorough historical and critical research, the autograph works of Leonardo extant in Tuscany are limited in number and are almost all conserved in the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence. They are connected to the early part of his life, but in them he already exhibits a striking maturity and mastery of his art, as for example in the landscape drawing dated “5 agosto 1473” and in his revolutionary painting of the Adoration of the Magi, begun when the artist was 30 years of age and never completed.
During Leonardo’s first Florentine period he was an apprentice of Andrea del Verrocchio, whose studio produced a steady stream of paintings, although it is not always possible to identify with certainty the hand of the young Leonardo in them. Unfortunately, most of his early drawings (and certainly all of those produced before 1473), as well as any possible works of sculpture or the applied arts, have been lost.
Furthermore, the fate of works mentioned in contemporary sources, such as the preparatory drawing for the Saint Anne in the Church of the Santissima Annunziata and the cartoon for his famous Battle of Anghiari, is not known. Finally, greatly to be regretted is the absence of any autograph manuscripts by Leonardo in Florence: the grand duke Cosimo II de’ Medici have been dissuaded from acquiring them by his counselors, who judged these folios to be “very trivial things” and quite unworthy of “such a great Prince”. Thus it came about that almost all of Leonardo’s manuscripts ended up in Spain. Some of them were later acquired by the 2^nd earl of Arundel, others returned to Italy (including the Codex Atlanticus and the manuscripts now conserved in Paris), and two were rediscovered in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in the second half of the twentieth century.
A copy of Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s Trattato di architettura civile e militare (Ash. 361, circa 1484) with five marginal notes in Leonardo’s hand datable to around 1504 is conserved in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana.

Leonardo understood how essential it was to his studies to find the sources of scientific and technological knowledge, and constantly sought to acquire such information.
His memorandums show that he frequented the Libraries of Santo Spirito and of San Marco in particular, where he noted the "chained books".
Based on over 300 sources, it has been possible to reconstruct Leonardo's "Ideal Library", which contained manuscripts and printed books that he mentions in lists in the Codex Atlanticus and Madrid Ms. II, as well as in various memorandums. He compiled these lists on the occasion of journeys and when, for instance, he left his books in Florence «in safekeeping at the monastery».
When he did not have them at hand, Leonardo could borrow or consult these books in monasteries and Florentine palaces. Some of them are now in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF), such as the Libro delle aree [Book of areas] by the Spanish-Jewish mathematician Abraham Bar Hyya Ha-Nasi, known as Savasorda, whose incipit was transcribed by Leonardo on the Weimar Folio, now in Malibu, California.
In these and other Florentine libraries, such as the Riccardiana and that of the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, are found apocryphal versions, facsimile editions, and rare publications of studies and research.
The documents on Leonardo's life and family are conserved mainly in the Florence State Archive, in the Opera del Duomo Archive, and in other repertories still partially unexplored.

Still today, Leonardo's relations with his contemporaries are unclear and subject to varying hypotheses. Along with the cultural influence of the artists and thinkers of his own day, that of his predecessors was also decisive. These relations, at times complex and not always well documented, are however very useful for understanding Leonardo's personality and the various stages of his development. It is interesting, although frequently difficult, to sketch an itinerary that links the Florentine personages and places known to the genius from Vinci.
Like other Renaissance artists, Leonardo studied works of classical art. Very probably, the sarcophagus carved with the Fall of Phaeton now in the Uffizi and the bronze horse's head that once belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent and is now displayed in the Florence Archaeological Museum exerted their fascination over the young artist. An echo of this initiation into the classical world is found in a drawing of mythological subject, the Neptune in the Windsor Royal Library, in which the ancient subject is ably reinterpreted in the light of the artist's manifold creative urges. This preparatory study recalls the drawing of the same subject, now lost, donated by Leonardo to his friend Antonio Segni when the latter moved to Rome to direct the papal Mint in 1505.
Leonardo's declared admiration for Giotto and Masaccio is as significant as his implicit esteem of Brunelleschi.
Although Verrocchio is known as his master, he was undoubtedly influenced also by the Pollaiolo and by the works of Flemish artists, either painted in Florence or brought from Flanders (Jan van Eyck, Roger van der Weyden, now in the Uffizi).
In his manuscripts, scattered among notes on daily life, bibliographical research and annotations of artistic and technological nature, appear numerous mentions of friends, companions and acquaintances. Among them were Francesco Sirigatti, astronomer and inventor, whom he mentions in the Codex Arundel («Show Serigatto the book and have him give you instructions for making the clock»), and Fioravanti di Domenico («in Florence companions, greatly beloved» on a folio dating from 1478 in the Uffizi's Cabinet of Drawings and Prints).
A rich interwoven pattern of coincidences and mutual exchange emerges, casting light on the complexity of Leonardo's life and work in his personal relationships and cultural preferences: from the miniators Vante and Gherardo to the goldsmith Niccolò di Forzore Spinelli (who gave him information on hydrology in Flanders), from Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli («Pagolo the physician») to Bendetto Dei (for the «voyage to the Orient»), from the Sienese Biringuiccio to members of Amerigo Vespucci's family, one of whom wrote his letters. Still today, the identify of this person is debated; was it Bartolomeo, mathematician and cosmographer, nephew of Amerigo Vespucci, or Agostino, assistant to Machiavelli? Most probably it was instead Giorgio Antonio Vespucci (1453-1512), Amerigo's uncle, a friend of Ficino, follower of Savonarola and Dominican monk in San Marco starting in 1499, who left his books to the monastery's library.
On January 25, 1504 Leonardo was one of those consulted to decide where to place Michelangelo's David. The list of artists in this group is a summary of the relationships existing in the Florence of the times. Among the friends of Leonardo, most of them also mentioned in his manuscripts, we find: Andrea della Robbia, Benedetto Buglioni, Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli, Francesco Granacci, Giovanni Piffero, Giuliano and Antonio da Sangallo, Lorenzo della Volpaia, Michelangelo the goldsmith, Perugino, Piero di Cosimo, Riccio the goldsmith, Simone del Pollaiolo, Vante the miniator.
In the past, the number and importance of the pupils in Leonardo's shop and the artists of his school have frequently been underestimated. Only recent studies have provided a more thorough knowledge of this subject. Among his pupils in Florence, the Anonymous Gaddiano mentions only five.
One of them, Atalante Migliorotti, is recalled for his musical talent: «[Leonardo] was eloquent in speaking and a gifted player of the lyre and he was the master of that Atalante Migliorotti [...]He was 30 years old when he was sent by the said Magnificent Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan accompanied by Atalante Migliorotti, to give him a lyre.»
As for the other four, many new elements have recently emerged. «Salai the Milanese» has been identified as Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salai or Salaino (that is, "little devil"), who came from Oreno di Vimercate, in Lombardy. Salai accompanied Leonardo to Florence in 1500 and here, starting in 1504, he frequently acted as intermediary between the master and his clients. He also accompanied Leonardo to Rome and Amboise, remaining with him until 1518, when he returned to Milan. Here he married and in 1524 died, killed by a shot from a musket. The belief that some of Leonardo's masterpieces had passed into his hands is presumably erroneous. His legacy, although rich in paintings and precious objects, probably did not include autograph paintings by his master, but only versions by artists of his school. It is possible instead that the panels sold by Salai to the King of France in 1518 were originals by Leonardo, although this still remains to be proven.One of them, Atalante Migliorotti, is recalled for his musical talent: «[Leonardo] was eloquent in speaking and a gifted player of the lyre and he was the master of that Atalante Migliorotti [...]He was 30 years old when he was sent by the said Magnificent Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan accompanied by Atalante Migliorotti, to give him a lyre.»
Zoroastro da Peretola, made famous by the legend of a disastrous attempt to fly with a machine designed by Leonardo from Monte Ceceri at Fiesole, has been identified as Tommaso Masini, the illegitimate son of Bernardo Rucellai. In 1493 he collaborated with Leonardo in Milan, while in 1504 he worked alongside his master on the Battle of Anghiari. Later he moved to Rome with Giovanni Rucellai, castellan of Sant’Angelo, and stayed with Miguel da Sylva, Cardinal and Ambassador of Portugal under Leo X and Clement VII.One of them, Atalante Migliorotti, is recalled for his musical talent: «[Leonardo] was eloquent in speaking and a gifted player of the lyre and he was the master of that Atalante Migliorotti [...]He was 30 years old when he was sent by the said Magnificent Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan accompanied by Atalante Migliorotti, to give him a lyre.»
«Il Riccio fiorentino» lived in Florence in the «Porta alla Croce» zone; various hypotheses have been advanced as to his activity.One of them, Atalante Migliorotti, is recalled for his musical talent: «[Leonardo] was eloquent in speaking and a gifted player of the lyre and he was the master of that Atalante Migliorotti [...]He was 30 years old when he was sent by the said Magnificent Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan accompanied by Atalante Migliorotti, to give him a lyre.»
Ferrando Spagnuolo is one of the two painters who introduced into Spain Leonardo's style, in which echoes of Filippino Lippi and Raphael were intermingled. These painters were Fernando Llanos and Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina, who collaborated in creating the retablo in the Cathedral of Valencia. Among the two, Fernando Spagnuolo, recalled in Leonardo's manuscripts, is in all probability Fernando Llanos, who worked with Leonardo, regularly recompensed, on the Battle of Anghiari. Many Leonardesque works were painted by him even after having returned to Spain.One of them, Atalante Migliorotti, is recalled for his musical talent: «[Leonardo] was eloquent in speaking and a gifted player of the lyre and he was the master of that Atalante Migliorotti [...]He was 30 years old when he was sent by the said Magnificent Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan accompanied by Atalante Migliorotti, to give him a lyre.»
Leonardo's influence is particularly evident in the works of the Florentine shops active in the last decades of the 15th century. His heritage fell to the Mannerists in the first decades of the 16th century and, thanks to the activity of numerous Leonardesque artists working all over Tuscany, was widely diffused beyond the boundaries of Florence.

During his first Florentine period, prior to 1481, Leonardo drew up a great number of studies and technological projects on folios that have been collected mainly in the Codex Atlanticus, as well as the Codex Arundel and the collection of the Cabinet and Prints and Drawings at the Uffizi.
These studies show remarkable evolution in the graphic aspect and methodology as compared to those of the Renaissance engineers who preceded him in Florence and Siena, from Brunelleschi to Francesco di Giorgio Martini, in addition to Taccola. Moreover, references to Graeco-Roman scientific treatises (from Hero of Alexandria to Archimedes) are evident. We need only think of his manner of demonstrating the assembly and disassembly of the various elements that make up a machine, for example a winch, in a sort of mechanical alphabet or anatomy.
On folios dating from around 1478-1480 we find technological projects concerning methods for walking on water and breathing under water, hygrometers and extraordinary hydraulic devices, self-propelled carts and other automated devices, studies for human flight and for the typographical machine, a great oil press and a roasting spit turned by hot air, furnaces for smelting metals and for distilling, burning mirrors, modular beams and construction site machines. Remarkable are the artistic applications, ranging from the perspectograph to the pantograph, to the projector for "large figures".
For all of this, Leonardo has also been called the artist of machines (Paolo Galluzzi), or the artist of ingenious devices.
When, presumably in 1482, Leonardo, about to leave Florence, had a letter of presentation to Ludovico il Moro compiled by a friend of his who was a scribe, he claimed and demonstrated - at least theoretically - formidable technical knowledge, ranging from the military arts to architecture.
We can read this letter in the Codex Atlanticus:
«Most illustrious Lord, having now sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and operation of the said instruments are nothing different to those in common use: I shall endeavour, without prejudice to any one else, to explain myself to your Excellency showing your Lordship my secrets, and then offering them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at opportune moments as well as all those things which, in part, shall be briefly noted below (and many more, according to the needs of the different cases, etc.).
1.        I have a sort of extremely light and strong bridges, adapted to be most easily carried, and with them you may pursue, and at any time flee from the enemy; and others, secure and indestructible by fire and battle, easy and convenient to lift and place. Also methods of burning and destroying those of the enemy.
2.         I know how, when a place is besieged, to take the water out of the trenches, and make endless variety of bridges, and covered ways and ladders, and other machines pertaining to such expeditions.
3.        Item. If, by reason of the height of the banks, or the strength of the place and its position, it is impossible, when besieging a place, to avail oneself of the plan of bombardment, I have methods for destroying every rock or other fortress, even if it were founded on a rock, &c.
4.        Again I have kinds of mortars; most convenient and easy to carry; and with these can fling small stones almost resembling a storm; and with the smoke of these causing great terror to the enemy, to his great detriment and confusion.
5.        Item. I have means by secret and tortuous mines and ways, made without noise to reach a designated [spot], even if it were needed to pass under a trench or a river.
6.        Item. I will make covered chariots, safe and unattackable which, entering among the enemy with their artillery, there is no body of men so great but they would break them. And behind these, infantry could follow quite unhurt and without any hindrance.
7.        Item. In case of need I will make big guns, mortars and light ordnance of fine and useful forms, out of the common type.
8.        Where the operation of bombardment should fail, I would contrive catapults, mangonels, trabocchi and other machines of marvellous efficacy and not in common use. And in short, according to the variety of cases, I can contrive various and endless means of offence and defence.
9.        And when the fight should be at sea I have kinds of many machines most efficient for offence and defence; and vessels which will resist the attack of the largest guns and powder and fumes.
10.      In time of peace I believe I can give perfect satisfaction and to the equal of any other in architecture and the composition of buildings public and private; and in guiding water from one place to another.
Item: I can carry out sculpture in marble, bronze or clay, and also in painting whatever may be done, and as well as any other, be he whom he may.
Again, the bronze horse may be taken in hand, which is to be to the immortal glory and eternal honour of the prince your father of happy memory, and of the illustrious house of Sforza.
And if any one of the above-named things seem to any one to be impossible or not feasible, I am most ready to make the experiment in your park, or in whatever place may please your Excellency—to whom I commend myself with the utmost humility &c. »
Interest in technological studies, science, mathematics, the alphabet of the waters and the anatomy of the human body, were at the centre of Leonardo's studies in his second Florentine period as well. Not all of the work done in these years has survived; in his writings, in fact, Leonardo often mentions treatises remained unfinished or that have now been lost.
On April 3, 1501 Fra Pietro da Novellara wrote to Isabella d’Este, stating that Leonardo «is working hard on geometry, and most impatient of his brush».
Of all of the machines drawn on the folios during his Florentine period, few can be traced to precise locations. Undoubtedly linked to Florence were the models of sandbanks in the Arno mentioned in the Codex Leicester, perhaps an anatomical model, and obviously the mobile scaffolding used to fresco the Battle of Anghiari in Palazzo Vecchio. Fabricated in France but sent to Bernardo Rucellai, a Florentine nobleman, was instead the water meter, a system for calculating the amount of water consumed or the amount sold.

Leonardo dedicated many maps and pages of manuscripts to studying the course of the Arno as it flows through Florence.
It is fascinating to reconstruct this course, and even more so to trace back to the ancient place names, which are ambiguous or apparently contradictory only in a few cases.
The radical transformations caused by the succession of initiatives carried out to govern the river, which have for instance reconfigured or eliminated the Bisarno, islands and sandbanks, must be taken into account.
At times the indication is too generic to be related to a precise place; as in the exact and poetical description of a whirlwind above a sandbar, on folio 15A-22v of the Codex Leicester: «How whirlwinds, in certain mouths of valleys, beat against the waters, hollowing them out in a great cavity, and draw up the water into the air in the shape of a column, with the colour of a cloud; and I have seen this happen over a sandbank in the Arno, in which the sand was hollowed out deeper than a man's height, and was drawn up and thrown far away. It appeared in the air in the form of a tall bell tower, and the summit grew like the branches of a great pine tree, and then it dropped down in contact with the good wind that blew over the mountains».
The same can be said for observations on the "Bisarno", such as those on folio 274r of the Codex Arundel: «300 braccia of the Bisarno has broken in 4 anni».
Leonardo does not limit himself to observations, but makes precise measurements of the terrain, the bridges, the banks and the walls. His objective was that of redefining the course of the river where it flowed through Florence, from Rovezzano to Peretola, and identifying and engineering the best point for deviating some of the water from the Arno into a navigable canal flowing through Prato, Pistoia and Serravalle.
An itinerary from upstream to downstream can be divided into three parts: from Nave a Rovezzano to the Africo torrent; in the centre of Florence, from the "Pescaia della Giustizia" and of San Niccolò to the Santa Rosa weir; from the Santa Rosa weir to Peretola.

On the map of Florence that shows the city in schematic, idealised form, Leonardo indicates by name only 10 of the gates found in the city's second circle of walls, begun in 1284. He moves San Miniato and San Giorgio backward, and ends by indicating Porta San Pier Gattolini ("Ghattolini"), today's Porta Romana, in an erroneous position, coinciding with that of Porta di Camaldoli, situated today on the avenues at the level of Piazza Torquato Tasso. He omits not only Porta di Camaldoli, also known as Porta Volterrana, but also Porta dei Servi (now destroyed, it stood at what is today Piazza Isidoro del Lungo and facilitated the access of the faithful to the church of Santissima Annunziata), Porta La Croce (or Porta di Sant’Ambrogio, in what is now Piazza Beccaria) and Porta Guelfa (now destroyed, it was situated at the level of today's Via Ghibellina).
He takes no account of the sidegates that flanked Porta al Prato, although he studies the course of the Mugnone river that flowed beside it (obviously, prior to its deviation beyond the sixteenth-century Fortezza da Basso) and the "Sardigna", where the carcasses of animals were dumped (today in proximity to the Comunale Theatre).