The famous manuscript returns to Florence after a quarter of a century as part of a spectacular exhibition.

The Codex Leicester is a world-famous manuscript, that contains ground-breaking thoughts and notes by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most genius artists and scientists in the history of mankind.
Now this precious and unique collection of writings and drawings on the movements of water, astronomy and celestial light returns to Florence after a quarter of a century – as part of a spectacular exhibition, that will fascinate the visitors as a cultural highlight and multimedia experience. The Water as Microscope of Nature. Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester exhibition presents more than 80 original pages by Leonardo and other precious manuscripts. It will be open for public in the Aula Magliabechiana of Uffizi Galleries from 30th October 2018 until 20th January 2019. 

The element of water: Leonardo da Vinci conducted haunting experiments to understand its nature, to use water as a source for energy and to search for solutions to keep its potentially destructive forces under control. The Renaissance genius’s thoughts on this topic are an important part of the Codex Leicester, that consists of 18 sheets of paper – each of them folded in half and written on both sides, composing the complete 72-page document. The manuscript offers also innovative ideas on other issues, especially on the material nature of the moon, its luminosity and on the history of planet Earth with its continuous and radical transformations. 

The main parts of the Codex Leicester originated between 1504 and 1508, a truly "magical" season in Florentine history. The city witnessed the simultaneous presence of some of the world's greatest people in the fields of literature, art and science – a period, that the artist Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) called "the school of the world". For Leonardo da Vinci this was a time of intense artistic and scientific activity. He was pursuing anatomical studies in the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, working on possibilities to enable human beings to fly, attempting to paint the Battle of Anghiari on the wall of Palazzo Vecchio and studying solutions to make the river Arno navigable from Florence to the Mediterranean Sea.

This is the Codex Leicester’s second "trip" to Florence. It was last shown in the Sala dei Gigli in Palazzo Vecchio in 1982 – when, within three months, more than 400,000 visitors came to see the exposition. It has taken more than two years to prepare this event and to set up the innovative technology that allows visitors now to leaf through the individual pages of the Codex on digital screens, to access a transcription of the texts and to receive multiple information on the issues they address. They will also have access to a vast range of digital footage produced by the Museo Galileo; these features can be found not only in the exhibition itself but also on the websites of the Uffizi Galleries and of the Museo Galileo.

Alongside the Codex Leicester the exhibition will present a number of spectacular original drawings by Leonardo and codex sheets of outstanding importance, for example the 17th century anthology Del moto et misura dell’acqua (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana) or the Codex on the Flight of Birds (Biblioteca Reale di Torino) compiled in the same months as Leonardo was working on the Codex Leicester. The visitors will see for instance four sheets from the Codex Atlanticus (Biblioteca Ambrosiana Milano), that illustrate Leonardo's studies of the moon and his invention of the crane, to enforce the canal project from Florence to the Mediterranean Sea. Also two double-sided sheets from the British Library's Codex Arundel are shown, that contain surveys of the Arno. Altogether the exposition includes more than 80 pages and the Codex on the Flight of Birds from Leonardo da Vinci and, in addition, 10 very precious manuscripts and incunables.

The exhibition of the Uffizi Galleries and the Museo Galileo is supported by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze.

Codice Leicester: note e disegni di sifoni  I Codex Leicester: notes and drawings of siphonsI Leonardo da Vinci Il Sole e la Luna visti dalla Terra. Origine della luce lunare Codice Leicester, 1r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3 I Leonardo da Vinci The Sun and the Moon as seen from Earth. Origin of the lunar light Codex Leicester, 1r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3Leonardo da Vinci Interazione tra acqua, letto del fiume, ostacoli. Ingegneria idraulica. Codice Leicester, 24 r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3 I Leonardo da Vinci Interaction between water, river bed, obstacles. Hydraulic engineering Codex Leicester, 24 r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3Leonardo da Vinci Sorgenti montane. Vene di acqua sotterranea Codice Leicester, 3v Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3 I Leonardo da Vinci Mountain springs. Subterranean water veins Codex Leicester, 3v Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3Leonardo da Vinci Interazione tra acqua e argine del fiume Codice Leicester, 6r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3 I Leonardo da Vinci Interaction between water and riverbanks Codex Leicester, 6r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3Leonardo da Vinci Origine della luce lunare Codice Leicester, 2r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3 I Leonardo da Vinci Origin of lunar light Codex Leicester, 2r Courtesy Bill Gates/©bgC3Leonardo da Vinci Studi sull’equilibrio degli uccelli in volo Codice sul volo degli uccelli, 8r. Biblioteca Reale, Torino I Leonardo da Vinci Studies on the equilibrium of flying birds. Codex on the Flight of Birds, 8r Biblioteca Reale, TorinoLeonardo da Vinci Studi sull’equilibrio degli uccelli in volo Codice sul volo degli uccelli, f. 7v. Biblioteca Reale, Torino I Leonardo da Vinci Studies on the equilibrium of flying birds. Codex on the Flight of Birds, f. 7v Biblioteca Reale, TorinoCleomede (attivo in Grecia, II secolo a.C. ?) De mundo: diagrammi astronomici 1498, Simone Bevilacqua Venezia Stampa su carta, f. kiii r Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Firenze I Cleomedes (active in Greece, 2nd century B.C.?) De mundo: diagrammi astronomici 1498, Simone Bevilacqua,Venezia print on paper, f. kiii r Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, FirenzeStrabone (Amasea, Ponto 58 a.C. circa - 25 d.C. circa) De situ orbis XV secolo, manoscritto membranaceo miniato, f. 1r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Strabo (Amaseia, Pontus 58 B.C. circa - 25 A.D. circa) De situ orbis 15th century parchment Ms., illuminated, f. 1r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeClaudio Tolomeo (attivo ad Alessandria, II secolo d.C.) Cosmographia: raffigurazione dell’ecumene 1466-1468 manoscritto membranaceo, ff. 75v - 76r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Claudius Ptolemy (active in Alexandria, 2nd century A.D.) Cosmographia: known world 1482, Lienhart Holle, Ulm print on paper, ff. 75v - 76r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeClaudio Tolomeo (attivo ad Alessandria, II secolo d.C.) Cosmographia: raffigurazione dell’ecumene 1482, Lienhart Holle, Ulm stampa in xilografia su carta, ff. 70v - 71r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Pliny the Elder (Como 23 - Stabia 79) Ricciardo di Nanni (illumination) Naturalis Historia: Pliny’s imaginary portrait 1458 parchment Ms., with a bianchi girari (white vine meanderings), f. 3r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzePlinio il Vecchio (Como 23 d.C. - Stabia 79 d.C.) Ricciardo di Nanni, miniatore Naturalis Historia: ritratto ideale di Plinio 1458 manoscritto membranaceo, miniatura a bianchi girari, f. 3r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Pliny the Elder (Como 23 - Stabia 79) Ricciardo di Nanni (illumination) Naturalis Historia: Pliny’s imaginary portrait 1458 parchment Ms., with a bianchi girari (white vine meanderings), f. 3r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Plinio il Vecchio (Como 23 d.C. - Stabia 79 d.C.) Ricciardo di Nanni e Francesco d’Antonio del Chierico, miniatori Naturalis Historia 1458 manoscritto membranaceo, miniatura a bianchi girari, f. 2v Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Pliny the Elder (Como 23 - Stabia 79) Ricciardo di Nanni in collaboration with Francesco d’Antonio del Chierico (illumination) Naturalis Historia 1458 parchment Ms., with a bianchi girari (white vine meanderings), f. 2v Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeGiovanni Sacrobosco (Halifax, Yorkshire fine del XII secolo - Parigi 1244 o 1256) Tractatus de Sphaera: diagrammi sulle relazioni Sole-Terra-Luna XIV secolo manoscritto membranaceo, f. 25r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I John of Holywood (Halifax, Yorkshire late 12th century - Paris 1244 or 1256) Tractatus de Sphaera: diagrams on the relationships between Sun, Earth and Moon 14th century parchment Ms, f. 25r Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeGiovanni Sacrobosco (Halifax, Yorkshire fine del XII secolo - Parigi 1244 o 1256) Tractatus de Sphaera: diagrammi sulle relazioni Sole-Terra-Luna XIV secolo manoscritto membranaceo, f. 24v Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I John of Holywood (Halifax, Yorkshire late 12th century - Paris 1244 or 1256) Tractatus de Sphaera: diagrams on the relationships between Sun, Earth and Moon 14th century parchment Ms, f. 24v Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeRistoro d’Arezzo (Arezzo, attivo nel XIII secolo) La composizione del mondo con le sue cascioni XIII secolo Manoscritto membranaceo, f. 1r carta iniziale miniata, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Firenze I Ristoro d’Arezzo (Arezzo, active 13th century) La composizione del mondo con le sue cascioni 13th century parchment, f. 1r illuminated first folio. Biblioteca Riccardiana, FirenzeFrancesco di Giorgio (Siena 1439-1501) e Leonardo da Vinci Trattato di architettura: tirari e alzari, con note autografe di Leonardo XV secolo  Codice Ashburnham, ff. 44v-45r  Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Francesco di Giorgio (Siena 1439-1501) and Leonardo da Vinci Treatise on Architecture: pullers and lifters with autographes notes by Leonardo 15th century parchment Codex Ashburnham, ff. 44v-45r  Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeFrancesco di Giorgio (Siena 1439-1501) e Leonardo da Vinci Trattato di architettura: tirari e alzari, con note autografe di Leonardo XV secolo  Codice Ashburnham, f. 44v  Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Firenze I Francesco di Giorgio (Siena 1439-1501) and Leonardo da Vinci Treatise on Architecture: pullers and lifters with autographes notes by Leonardo 15th century parchment Codex Ashburnham, f. 44v  Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, FirenzeLeonardo da Vinci Sei diagrammi di Terra, Luna e Sole 1513 circa penna e inchiostro, carta bianca a impasto grezzo Codice Atlantico, f. 554v Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano I Leonardo da Vinci Six diagrams of Earth, Moon and Sun  1513 circa pen and ink, raw white paper Codex Atlanticus, f. 554v Veneranda Biblioteca e Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, MilanoLeonardo da Vinci La Luna 1513-1514 circa matita nera, gesso bianco, carta bianca Codice Atlantico, f. 674v Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano I Leonardo da Vinci The Moon  1513-1514 circa black pencil, white chalk, on profusely stained white paper Codex Atlanticus, f. 674v Veneranda Biblioteca e Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, MilanoLeonardo da Vinci Studi per la canalizzazione dell’Arno 1504 circa matita rossa, penna e inchiostro Codice Arundel, ff. 278v-271r British Library, Londra I Leonardo da Vinci Studies for the channeling of the Arno 1504 circa red pencil, pen and ink Codex Arundel, ff. 278v-271r. British Library, LondonLeonardo da Vinci Studi per la canalizzazione dell’Arno 1504 circa matita rossa, penna e inchiostro Codice Arundel, ff. 271v-278r British Library, Londra I Leonardo da Vinci Studies for the channeling of the Arno 1504 circa red pencil, pen and ink Codex Arundel, ff. 271v-278r British Library, London  Leonardo da Vinci Studi per la canalizzazione d’Arno e sui moti del vento 1504 circa  penna e inchiostro con tocchi di matita rossa Codice Arundel, ff. 276v-273r British Library, Londra I Leonardo da Vinci Studies for channelling the Arno and on wind 1504 circa  pen and ink, with touches of red pencil Codex Arundel, ff. 276v-273r British Library, LondonLeonardo da Vinci Studi per la canalizzazione dell’Arno e sui moti del vento 1504 circa penna e inchiostro con tocchi di matita rossa Codice Arundel, ff. 273v-276r British Library, Londra I Leonardo da Vinci Studies for channelling the Arno and on wind 1504 circa pen and ink, with touches of red pencil Codex Arundel, ff. 273v-276r British Library, LondonLeonardo da Vinci Studio di macchine elevatrici e impianti di scavo 1502 (?) matita, penna e acquerello su carta Codice Atlantico, f. 3r Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano I Leonardo da Vinci Studies on lifting and excavation equipment 1502 (?) pencil, ink pen and watercolour on paper Codex Atlanticus, f. 3r Veneranda Biblioteca e Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, MilanoLeonardo da Vinci Studio di macchine elevatrici e impianti di scavo 1502 (?) matita, penna e acquerello su carta Codice Atlantico, f. 4r Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano I Leonardo da Vinci Studies on lifting and excavation equipment 1502 (?) pencil, ink pen and watercolour on paper Codex Atlanticus, f. 4r Veneranda Biblioteca e Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milano
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Exhibition: Water as Microscope of Nature. Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester 

Firenze, The Uffizi, Aula Magliabechiana

30 October 2018 – 20 January 2019

The exhibition is included in the admission ticket to the Uffizi. 

Discover the Codex Leicester: Exhibition website

#Codice Leicester #CodexLeicester #UffiziforLeonardo #Leonardo500

 

Promoted by

Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali

Gallerie degli Uffizi

Museo Galileo

Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze

Firenze Musei

Opening hours

08:15am - 06:50pm