Inventions by Leonardo da Vinci
Artist, engineer, architect, strategist, or simply genius. It is very difficult to find a definition when we think of Leonardo da Vinci, undoubtedly the most innovative and eclectic personality that humanity has ever known.
Between myth and reality, armed with original sketches and models – but without claiming to be exhaustive, of course, because it would be truly a mission impossible – here are 50, each more incredible than the other.
01. The Flying Machine
Or rather, one of the versions of the flying machine designed by Leonardo (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)
02. Floats for Walking on Water
Here they are at full scale (Photo: Eric VANDEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
03. The “Automobile”
The famous project of a self-propelled cart is actually an elaborate spring system conceived as a theatrical stage trick (not a means of transporting people). Here is a working model, created by the Leonardo3 research group in Milan. (Photo: Xavier ROSSI/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
04. The Parachute
The first design of a system to cushion falls actually dates back a few years before Leonardo’s famous drawing, but it was conical in shape and no prototypes have been found. Leonardo’s design, with a pyramidal shape, involved the use of starched linen fabric and, tested only in 2000, revealed surprising capabilities (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
05. The Mowing Cart
A kind of nightmare on wheels equipped with deadly rotating blades. On the same page of the sketch, Leonardo also reflected on his tank (Photo: Print Collector/Getty Images)
06. The Tank
It moves on four driven wheels operated by a crank mechanism system and can fire in every direction (Photo: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
07. The Diving Suit
In the image, Luigi Tursini’s interpretation of Leonardo’s diving suit sketch dating back to 1953 (Photo: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
08. Open-Bottom Float
An ellipse in woven wicker partially covered by a leather sheath. This is Leonardo’s interpretation of a floating system for transporting materials (such as gravel) on the riverbed: nothing less than a military strategy for fording watercourses (Photo: Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia “Leonardo da Vinci” via Wikimedia Commons)
09. The Knight Automaton
A robot with armor designed and (perhaps) even made by Leonardo, still shrouded in mystery (Photo: Erik Möller via Wikimedia Commons)
10. The Mechanical Drum
This wheeled object is designed to be attached to a cart and operate automatically, harnessing its motion. The wooden model inspired by this sketch is located at the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
11. The “Printer”
Or rather, a printing press. Leonardo became interested in Gutenberg’s movable type printing (an invention of a few decades earlier) and tried to develop its machinery. In particular, trying to automate the entire process as much as possible (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
12. Mobile Ram Ship
In the image, one of Leonardo’s mobile ram ship models. The rams allowed for engaging enemy ships in close combat. The scythe-shaped one was designed to fall onto the enemy ship at full speed. (Photo: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
13. Another Model of a Ram Ship
Note the trap at the prow (Photo: Museo Scienza e tecnologia “Leonardo da Vinci” via Wikimedia Commons)
14. Palm-Leaf Glove
Here, Luigi Tursini’s interpretation (1953) of Leonardo’s manuscripts. The application? Swimming, as indicated by the original sketch, which you will see in the next image (Photo: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
15. The Lifebuoy
Here it is worn in one of the original sketches by the artist (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
16. The Aerial Screw
One of his most famous inventions and in fact the ancestor of the helicopter (Photo: Eric Vandeville/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
17. Machine for Perpetual Motion
During Leonardo’s time, there was much debate among scholars about the possibility of achieving perpetual motion. In the image, a computer reconstruction of Leonardo’s invention (Photo: Getty Images)
18. Stone-Throwing Ballista
A wooden spring catapult designed to hurl stones like real projectiles (Photo: Museo Scienza e Tecnologia “Leonardo Da Vinci” via Wikimedia Commons)
19. The Furnace
Not just any furnace, but for bronze casting (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
20. Double Chamber Furnace
The idea was to use it for distillation (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
21. Ball Bearings
Here’s a wooden model from his notes (Photo: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images)
22. The Bicycle?
It is one of the great mysteries surrounding Leonardo. The incredibly modern design of this two-wheeled vehicle has been attributed to him, but studies of the original drawing suggest that it is a forgery and that most of the details were added later: much of the drawing is in graphite pencil, which was not yet in use before Da Vinci’s death. (Photo: Eric VANDEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
23. Fragmentation Bombard
This enormous bombard fires explosive projectiles that, once in the air, fragment and fall in clusters on enemies (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
24. The Mirror Chamber
A system created ad hoc to reveal the secrets of multiple reflection (Photo: TORSTEN SILZ/AFP/Getty Images)
25. Wheel for Operating Crossbows
A mechanism for triggering four crossbows successively (Photo: Print Collector/Getty Images)
26. Machine for Sharpening Needles
Among Leonardo’s sketches, there were many projects to revolutionize craftsmanship and manufacturing (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
27. Machine Guns
Portable, versatile structures with a wide range. The height was adjustable through a crank positioned on the back of the machine (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
28. Circumvolgore
Essentially a revolving turret with twelve firearms to be positioned on a ship’s hull to eliminate the enemy 360 degrees (Photo: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
29. Automatic Loom
The sketch is Leonardo’s original, while the working model is available at the collection of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
30. Cord Twisting Machine
Or: how to make an 18-strand rope by simply turning a crank (Photo SSPL/Getty Images)
31. Pile Driver Machine
Among Leonardo’s drawings was also a project for diverting the course of the Arno River, which involved the development of technologies for building dams and hydraulic systems (Photo: Seth Joel/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
32. Paddle Boat
By manually operating the mast, it became possible to use the wheel paddles as a series of oars to propel the boat quickly (Photo: Ulli Winkler/Ullstein via Getty Images)
33. Stair Destroyer
How to defend a fortress from raiders? Like this (Photo: Print Collector/Getty Images)
34. Churches and Fortresses
Could Leonardo not also prove to be an excellent architect of churches and castles? These are just a few examples (Photo Apic/Getty Images)
35. The Ideal City
A complex network of canals, a new and articulated road network on multiple levels, arches, and openings for air circulation: this is how Leonardo reimagined his city. In the photo, a 1956 model offers us the most accurate reconstruction of his sketches (Photo: PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)
36. Two-Story Bridge
The project, based on a design by Leonardo, suggests a system for organizing traffic in both directions without creating congestion. An incredibly modern solution, reminiscent of some great cities today (Photo SSPL/Getty Images)
37. Viaduct Bridge
It is built span by span by tying the horizontal beams to the vertical supports; it was designed for temporary military purposes (Photo Print Collector/Getty Images)
38. Mud Dredging Machine
A machine designed to remove mud deposits accumulated in ports and riverbeds (Photo: Alessandro Nassiri for the Museo nazionale della scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano via Wikimedia Commons)
39. Canal Digging Crane
A huge machine capable of moving large volumes of earth (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
40. Giant Crossbow
An enormous war machine too fanciful to be used for real (Photo: Print Collector/Getty Images)
41. Project for a Flapping Wing
In Leonardo’s drawing (dated between 1483 and 1486), it is explained how to measure the specific lift of a wing (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
42. Submarine Machines
Not just means for flight: here are also sketches of a partially submerged boat and another with an air gap among Leonardo’s codes. Thanks to other notes, scientists have also traced a real mechanical submarine for transporting people: you can find it here, also in 3D version (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
43. Winch for Lifting Weights
Here is the wooden model based on Leonardo’s sketches that is part of the collection of the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan (Photo: Alessandro Nassiri for the Museo nazionale della scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano via Wikimedia Commons)
44. Double-Arm Crane
The sketch is the original from the 15th century, but the wooden model is available at the Collection of Leonardo’s Historical Models at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan (Photo: SSPL via Getty Images)
45. A Thousand Forms of Stills
Leonardo “played” willingly with the shapes of hydraulic tools. His distillation plants are famous (Photo SSPL/Getty Images)
46. Machine for Working Mirrors
Especially concave ones, essential for studies in the field of optics (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
47. Machine for Producing Screws
(Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
48. Water Lifting Systems
A mix of pumps, bellows, and elevators on a single page of his notes (Photo: SSPL/Getty Images)
49. Hygrometer with a Dial
We owe some important innovations in the field of scientific instrumentation to Leonardo. Here, a system for measuring air humidity (Photo: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
50. The Anemometer
Leonardo’s passion for flight led him to innovate techniques for measuring wind speed. In his notes, the inventor indicated the need to accompany this instrument with a clock (Photo: Esa)