While Jim and Gloria returned to Chiarvari on New Year's Eve day to find the distant relatives of her father, Laura, Robert, the boys and I went to Vinci, Italy. This is a tiny town in Tuscany, not far from Florence where Leonardo da Vinci was born and raised. Leonardo was born in 1452 and the original 3-room home where he was born is still standing although it was restored in 1986. The grounds surrounding it remain virtually the same, as he was born on the top of a mountain, a little climb outside the tiny town. The house contains the drawing of the landscapes he designed around the town. Was there no end to his talents, interests and abilities?
The town itself is very quaint and the museum and castle there are the main attractions in this sleepy little place. We had a break in the rain just long enough to view the hills of Tuscany bathed in sunlight. It was one of the prettiest places I have ever been and so peaceful. Jim had the camera so I have scanned some postcards that Laura bought in the castle for me, of the area for you to see.
Leonardo was raised by his father who was a 25-year-old notary at the time of his son's birth. His mother, Catherina, was a peasant girl who married another man shortly after Leonardo's birth. He had 17 half brothers and sisters. In spite of his father's profession as a notary, he did have a wonderful collection of books and they were the inspiration and laid the foundation of the work that Leonardo was able to accomplish in his lifetime. Most of us think of his paintings and sculptures as his claim to fame but he was known and respected for his expertise in countless fields of study as well.
In the town of Vinci there are very few of his major works of art but the museum is dedicated to his inventions and the designs of his military weapons and implements of war and his extensive drawing collections and other writings. A new museum with the intent of housing some of his art is under construction in Vinci now. His entire life was "art " but I am speaking of it in the traditional sense...paintings and sculptures. Although he studied and worked in Italy a good part of his life, his final commissions were for the King of France and he is said to have died in the arms of that King.
The King wanted Leonardo to do a large sculpture of the King's father on a horse that was to be four times life size and weighing several tons. He was never to complete that work as he suffered from paralysis of his right hand in his later years. Since that time the statute has been completed on a smaller scale by a young woman that studied his drawings. It now sits proudly in the little Piazza of Vinci, Italy to honor this most amazing Renaissance man in history of the world.
The horse, sans the King's Father!
The timing was pretty good and we loved seeing Vinci under the Tuscan sun and where Vinci, Italy became~Vinci da Leonardo because of one native son, Leonardo da Vinci. (I made that part up but it fits, don't you think?)
P.S. I found it ironic that not only did Beethoven lose his hearing but Leonardo lost the use of his hand. How sad is that? Very!
See this web link for an interesting current article about Leonardo da Vinci:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_leonardo_s_mysteries
