2019 is Leonardo's year!
After five hundred years since his death, innumerable activities and initiatives have been organized throughout Italy to celebrate one of Renaissance's best geniuses. From his birthtown Anchiano to the cities of Florence, Parma, Torino and Venice, each of the events and exhibitions dedicated to the Italian artist is interesting in its own way.
So why don't you seize this fantastic opportunity to discover more about one of the most important personalities of all times? Here are all the appointment you cannot miss in Italy...save the dates!
In Anchiano, a small town immersed in the countryside of Montalbano, Tuscany, Leonardo spent his childhood and teenage years. His Birth House, where he was born in April 15th 1452, is now open to the public and itpresents an interesting interactive exposition dedicated to his life. It is simple to reach Vinci from Anchiano: there is a tiny road called "Strada Verde" that can be traveled by foot admiring a wonderful rolling landscape.
Of course, Vinci is the place that best represents Leonardo's life. He was baptised inside Santa Croce Church and it was here that he invented many of his works. Manuscripts, mechanical clocks, drawings, bicycles and hundreds of other machines invented by the scientist are now conserved in the "Museo Leonardiano di Vinci", a museum structured btween three buildings called Palazzina Uzielli, Conti Guidi Castle and Villa il Ferrale. From April 15th to October 15th 2019, the museum hosts the exhibition called "Leonardo a Vinci. Alle origini del genio", based on the first biographical facts about the artists and organized in collaboration with the Uffizi Gallery. And there's more: check when the other conferences, expositions and events take place during the year in the Museum's official website!
Even Florence celebrates this quincentenary! January 2019 correponded to the inauguration of a wonderful and exclusive exhibition in the Uffizi Gallery dedicated to the "Leicester's Code", which was a very special event that concerned the city where Leonardo received his formation. Although it has already ended, it is still possible to see the splendid masterpieces by the painter conserved inside the museum, like the "Annunciation" or "The Baptism of Christ", as well as discovering the hidden secrets in Palazzo Vecchio's Salone dei Cinquecento, where the well-known fresco called "Battle of Anghiari" was once conserved!
Milan, which is the town where Leonardo moved in 1482, will instead open the doors of a charming decorated hall called "Sala delle Asse" inside the Castello Sforzesco, which is one of the best artistic evidences of the painter. Until October 13th 2019, the "Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci" will also host a temporary exposition called "Leonardo da Vinci Parade", which will mix the beauty of Pinacoteca di Brera's paintings with the unique scientific drawings made by Leonardo. Further to these initiatives, in Milan you cannot miss a visit to the beautiful Cenacolo, to Santa Maria delle Grazie's Refettorio or to the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, which are symbolic places connected with the artistic production of the Genius.
The journey retracing Leonard's steps also passes from Venice, conserving the original print of the "Vitruvian Man" inside the "Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe" of Galleria dell'Accademia; from the National Gallery of Parma, where there is a painting called "La Scapigliata" and finally ends in Rome, especially inside the "Museo Leonardo da Vinci" and the exclusive exhibition called "Leonardo da Vinci Experience".
What are you waiting for? Start planning your trip for 2019 and visit the most important places associated with Leonardo da Vinci's life in occasion of his quincentenary!
Book one of our holiday rentals in Vinci, in the heart of Florence, in Venice or in Rome for your next vacation and discover the beauties of Italy!
© Alice Pilastri
