Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus Reunited Digitally After 400 Years
In Florence, the Galileo Museum has successfully digitally restored Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, which had been fragmented for 400 years, with over 500 pages removed in the late 16th century. The museum introduced Leonardotheka 2.0, incorporating 550 pages, previously excised by sculptor Pompeo Leoni and now part of the U.K.'s Royal Collection Trust, into the original 1,119-page manuscript housed at Milan's Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana. Created between the 1470s and 1519, the Codex features designs such as the flying machine. Leoni categorized the pages into artistic and technical collections. Since its inception in 2023, Leonardotheka has reconstructed 50 new pages, enabling users to explore documents by content and technique. Executive director Roberto Ferrari highlighted the importance of cultural institutions' intellectual ownership in digital initiatives.
Key facts
- Galileo Museum launched Leonardotheka 2.0, reuniting Codex Atlanticus with over 500 pages cut by Pompeo Leoni.
- The pages are owned by the U.K.'s Royal Collection Trust and were added to the 1,119-page tome at Milan's Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
- Codex Atlanticus is Leonardo's largest surviving notebook, produced between the 1470s and 1519.
- Leoni separated artistic from technical and scientific experiments in the late 16th century.
- The technical portion was gifted to the Ambrosiana by Count Galeazzo Arconati; the artistic portion entered the Royal Collection in the 1620s.
- Leonardotheka reconstructed 50 new pages by matching dimensions, preparation methods, materials, and watermarks.
- A reunited drawing of a horse is linked to notes on Pavia's Regisole equestrian monument and the Francesco Sforza monument.
- Museo Galileo's Roberto Ferrari emphasized retaining intellectual ownership of digital projects.
Entities
Artists
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Pompeo Leoni
- Francesco Melzi
- Polidoro Calchi
- Count Galeazzo Arconati
- Charles II
- Paolo Galluzzi
- Roberto Ferrari
- King Charles II
- Matthew Landrus
- Orazio Melzi
- Fabio Cassese
- Marion Bertin
Institutions
- Galileo Museum
- Museo Galileo
- Royal Collection Trust
- Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana
- Royal Collection
- Biblioteca Leonardiana
- University of Oxford
- Italian Ministry of Culture
- Ministry of Universities and Research
- Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
- Biblioteca Leonardina di Vinci
- Royal Collection at Windsor Castle
- Biblioteca Ambrosiana
- Biblioteca Nacional de España
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- British Library
- Institut de France
- Le Journal des Arts
- Finestre sull'Arte
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Milan
- United Kingdom
- England
- Pavia
- Windsor
- Vinci
- Tuscany
- Madrid
- Spain
- London
- Paris
- France