Widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time, his most famous works included ‘the Mona Lisa’, ‘the Last Supper’ and ‘the Vitruvian Man’.

Although he has since been celebrated for his technological ingenuity, Leonardo’s scientific genius largely went undiscovered and unappreciated during his time. As Sigmund Freud wrote:

He was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.

Here are 10 surprising facts you (probably) didn’t know about him.

1. His name was not really “Leonardo da Vinci”

Leonardo’s full name at birth was Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci, which means “Leonardo, (son) of ser Piero from Vinci.”

To his contemporaries he was known just as Leonardo or “Il Florentine” – since he lived near Florence.

2. He was an illegitimate child – fortunately

Born in a farmhouse outside the village of Anchiano in Tuscany on 14/15 April 1452, Leonardo was the child of Ser Piero, a wealthy Florentine notary, and an unmarried peasant woman named Caterina.

The possible birthplace and childhood home of Leonardo in Anchiano, Vinci, Italy. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Roland Arhelger, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The two had 12 other children with other partners – but Leonardo was the only child they had together.

His illegitimacy meant he was not expected to follow his father’s profession and become notary. Instead, he was free to pursue his own interests and go into the creative arts.

3. He received little formal education

Leonardo was largely self-educated and received no formal education beyond basic reading, writing and mathematics.

His artistic talents were evident from an early age. At aged 14 he began an apprenticeship with the noted sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio, of Florence.

In Verrocchio’s workshop, he was exposed to theoretical training and a wide range of technical skills including metalwork, carpentry, drawing, painting and sculpting.

His earliest known work – a pen-and-ink landscape drawing – was sketched in 1473.

4. His first commissions were never completed

In 1478, Leonardo received his first independent commission: to paint an alterpiece for the Chapel of St. Bernard in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio.

In 1481, he was commissioned to paint ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ for the monastery San Donato in Florence.

However he was forced to abandon both commissions when he relocated to Milan to work for the Sforza family. Under the patronage of the Sforzas, Leonardo painted ‘The Last Supper’ in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

Leonardo would spend 17 years in Milan, leaving only after Duke Ludovico Sforza’s fall from power in 1499.

‘The Baptism of Christ’ (1472–1475) by Verrocchio and Leonardo, Uffizi Gallery. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Andrea del Verrocchio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

5. He was an accomplished musician

Perhaps predictably for an individual who excelled in everything he tried, Leonardo had a gift for music.

According to his own writings, he believed music to be closely related to the visual arts as it was similarly dependent upon one of the 5 senses.

According to Georgio Vasari, a contemporary of Leonardo’s, “he sang divinely without any preparation.”

He also played the lyre and the flute, often performing at gatherings of the nobility and at the houses of his patrons.

His surviving manuscripts contain some of his original musical compositions, and he invented an organ-viola-harpsichord instrument that only came into being in 2013.

6. His biggest project was destroyed

Leonardo’s most substantial commissioned work was for the Duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro, called Gran Cavallo or ‘Leonardo’s Horse’ in 1482.

The proposed statue of the Duke’s father Francesco Sforza on horseback was to be more than 25 feet tall and intended to be the largest equestrian statue in the world.

Leonardo spent nearly 17 years planning the statue. But before it was completed, French forces invaded Milan in 1499.

The clay sculpture was used for target practice by the victorious French soldiers, shattering it to pieces.

7. He was a chronic procrastinator

Leonardo was not a prolific painter. Because of his abundance of diverse interests, he would often fail to complete his paintings and projects.

Instead, he would spend his time immersed in nature, conducting scientific experiments, dissecting human and animal bodies, and filling his notebooks with inventions, observations and theories.

Study for ‘The Battle of Anghiari’ (now lost), c. 1503, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is thought that a stroke left Leonardo’s right hand paralysed, cutting short his painting career and leaving works such as ‘the Mona Lisa’ unfinished.

As a result, only 15 paintings have been attributed either in whole or in large part to him.

8. His ideas had little influence during the period

Although he was highly respected as an artist, Leonardo’s scientific ideas and inventions gained little traction among his contemporaries.

He made no effort to get his notes published and it was only centuries later that his notebooks – often referred to as his manuscripts and “codices” – were made available to the public.

Because they were kept secret, many of his discoveries had little influence on scientific advancement in the Renaissance period.

9. He was charged with sodomy

In 1476, Leonardo and three other young men were charged with the crime of sodomy in an incident that involved a well-known male prostitute. It was a serious accusation that could have led to his execution.

The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence but in the aftermath Leonardo disappeared, only reemerging in 1478 to take on a commission at a chapel in Florence.

10. He spent his final years in France

When Francis I of France offered him the title of “Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King” in 1515, Leonardo left Italy for good.

It gave him the opportunity to work at leisure while living in a country manor house, Clos Lucé, near the king’s residence in Amboise in the Loire Valley.

Leonardo died in 1519 at the age of 67 and was buried in a nearby palace church.

The church was nearly obliterated during the French Revolution, making it impossible to identify his exact gravesite.

1. Lorenzo de’ Medici

Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449-1492) was a member of the Medici family, one of the wealthiest European families in history and the de facto rulers of Florence. During the Renaissance, artists were completely reliant on patrons. Although he rarely commissioned work himself, Lorenzo de’ Medici helped connect artists with other patrons.

Artists who enjoyed Lorenzo’s patronage included Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Along with being a statesman and major patron of the arts, he also encouraged the development of Renaissance humanism through his inner circle of scholars and philosophers.

2. Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the very ideal of the Renaissance man – a supremely gifted painter, scientist, inventor and polymath. Da Vinci has been widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest minds, with extraordinary talents that included painting, mathematics, architecture, engineering, botany, sculpture, and human biology.

As an artist, he painted ‘The Last Supper’, ‘The Vitruvian Man’ and the ‘Mona Lisa’, arguably the world’s most famous painting. As an inventor, he designed workable precursors of a diving suit, a robot, and a tank – centuries before they became a reality. As a scientist, he designed the first self-propelled machine in history and described the processes governing friction.

‘Saint John the Baptist’ by Leonardo da Vinci

Image Credit: Leonardo da Vinci, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

3. Michelangelo

Michelangelo (1475–1564) was a sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer whose endeavours embodied the spirit of the Renaissance. His greatest works include St Peter’s Basilica – the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture – his frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the statue of David.

Michelangelo’s artistic legacy is one that lives on as one of the three titans of the Florentine renaissance, alongside da Vinci and Raphael. His works have since exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of art.

4. Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicholaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a mathematician, astronomer, physician, economist, diplomat and classics scholar. His most important teaching – that the earth revolved around the sun – placed him in direct opposition to the established teachings of the church.

His heliocentric view of the solar system and universe was the most prominent scientific achievement of the Renaissance age. Without him, much of Galileo’s work would not have been possible.

Copernicus’ publication in 1543 of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (‘On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres’) led to the Copernican Revolution, seen as the starting point of modern astronomy and the Scientific Revolution.

Nicolaus Copernicus portrait from Town Hall in Toruń, 1580

Image Credit: Toruń Regional Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

5. Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), commonly known as Petrarch, was one of the earliest humanists during the early Italian Renaissance and has been called the ‘father of humanism’. A devout Catholic, Petrarch believed that God had given humans their intellectual and creative potential to be used to their fullest.

He argued that classical writings offered moral guidance to reform humanity – a key principle of Renaissance humanism. Petrarch’s rediscovery of Cicero’s letters in 1345 is often credited with initiating the 14th century Renaissance. In the 16th century, Italian scholar Pietro Bembo created the model for the modern Italian language based on Petrarch’s works.

6. Raphael

Up until the late 19th century, Raphael (1483-1520) was considered to be the greatest artist who ever lived – more so than even da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Known for his mastery of depicting human emotions and clarity of form, Raphael produced works that were the cornerstones of Renaissance art.

His best known work is The School of Athens in the Stanza della segnatura (‘Room of the Signatura’) – also known as the Raphael Rooms – in the Vatican palace.

Painted between 1509 and 1511, the Raphael Rooms depicted the harmony and wisdom which Renaissance humanists perceived between Christian teaching and Greek philosophy.

7. Galileo Galilei

Galileo (1564–1642) was perhaps the most influential Renaissance scientist who paved the scientific revolution that later flourished in northern Europe. Often called the ‘father of observational astronomy’, Galilei pioneered the telescope and advocated the heliocentric model of our solar system.

He made key discoveries in both pure fundamental science as well as practical applied science, and in doing so revolutionised our understanding of the world.

8. Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was one of the most influential humanists of the French Renaissance. His 1850 Essais (‘Essays’) established the essay as a literary genre.

First published in 1580, the book balances personal storytelling and intellectual knowledge in Montaigne’s signature essay format. His work inspired writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, René Descartes, and Francis Bacon.

Montaigne’s profound writings covered a remarkably modern and diverse range topics including human action, child education and motivation.

9. Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a Florentine political philosopher and statesman, whose work Il Principe (‘The Prince’) has earned him an image as an immoral cynic.

In his best-known book, Machiavelli outlined traits that would bolster power and influence in an effective leader. A new prince had to be shrewd, brutal, calculating and – when necessary – utterly immoral. In other words, “the ends justify the means.”

Machiavelli has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. His ideas had a profound impact on political leaders throughout Europe, aided by the new technology of the printing press.

His writings were said to have influenced Henry VIII in his turn towards Protestantism, and is notable in political theorists including John Milton, Francis Bacon, Rousseau, Hume, Adam Smith and Descartes.

Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli

Image Credit: Santi di Tito, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

10. William Shakespeare

While the Italian Renaissance was dominated by the visual arts, the Renaissance in England took place mainly in literature and music. Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a key figure of the English Renaissance.

While he was working in the theatre, the Renaissance was peaking in England. Shakespeare was one of the first playwrights to introduce the new openness and humanism of the movement to the theatre.

One of the most influential writers in the English language, Shakespeare wrote some of the finest and most famous works ever written.

By the first half of the 15th century, the family had risen to become the most important house in Florence and Tuscany – a position they would hold for three centuries.

The founding of the Medici dynasty

The Medici family originated in the agricultural Mugello region of Tuscany. The name Medici means “doctors”.

The dynasty began when Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (1360–1429) emigrated to Florence to found the Medici Bank in 1397, which would become Europe’s largest and most respected bank.

Using his success in banking, he turned to new lines of commerce – trading spices, silk and fruit. At his death, the Medicis were one of wealthiest families in Europe.

Portrait of Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Peter Paul Rubens, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

As the pope’s bankers, the family quickly acquired political power. In 1434, Giovanni’s son Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) became the first Medici to de facto rule Florence.

The three branches of the Medici family

There were three branches of Medicis that successfully gained power – the line of Chiarissimo II, the line of Cosimo (known as Cosimo the Elder) and the descendants of his brother, who went on to rule as grand dukes.

The House of Medici produced 4 popes – Leo X (1513–1521), Clement VII (1523–1534), Pius IV (1559–1565) and Leo XI (1605).

They also produced two French queens – Catherine de’ Medici (1547–1589) and Marie de’ Medici (1600–1630).

In 1532, the family gained the hereditary title of Duke of Florence. The duchy was later elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which they ruled until the death of Gian Gastone de’ Medici in 1737.

Cosimo the Elder and his descendants

Sculpture of Cosimo the Elder by Luigi Magi. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Uffizi, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

During Cosimo’s reign, the Medicis gained fame and prestige first in Florence and then across Italy and Europe. Florence prospered.

Because they were part of the patrician class and not the nobility, the Medicis were seen as friends of the common people.

After his death, Cosimo’s son Piero (1416-1469) took over. His son, Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), would subsequently rule during the pinnacle of the Florentine Renaissance.

Under Cosimo’s rule and that of his son and grandson, Renaissance culture and art flourished in Florence.

The city became the cultural centre of Europe and the cradle of the new humanism.

The Pazzi conspiracy

In 1478, the Pazzi and Salviati families attempted a plot to displace the Medicis with the approval of Pope Sixtus IV, who was an enemy of the Florentine family.

The brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici were attacked during High Mass at Florence Cathderal.

Giuliano was stabbed 19 times, and bled to death on the Cathedral floor. Lorenzo managed to escape, seriously but not fatally wounded.

Most of the conspirators were caught, tortured and executed, hung from the windows of the Palazzo della Signoria. The Pazzi family were banished from Florence, their lands and property confiscated.

The failure of the plot served to strengthen the position of Lorenzo and his family’s rule over Florence.

The fall of the House

Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici by Cigoli. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The last of the great banking Medici line, Piero il Fatuo (“the Unfortunate”), only ruled Florence for two years before being expelled. The Medici Bank collapsed in 1494.

Upon the defeat of the French armies in Italy by the Spanish, the Medicis returned to rule the city in 1512.

Under Cosimo I (1519-1574) – a descendant of Cosimo the Elder’s brother Lodovici – Tuscany was turned into an absolutist nation state.

These later Medicis became more authoritarian in their rule of the region, which led to its decline as a cultural hub.

After the death of Cosimo II in 1720, the region suffered under ineffectual Medici rule.

In 1737 the last Medici ruler, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir. His death ended the family dynasty after almost three centuries.

Control over the Tuscany was passed to Francis of Lorraine, whose marriage to Maria Theresa of Austria sparked the beginning of the reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family.

The Medici legacy

Over a period of just 100 years, the Medici family transformed Florence. As unparalleled patrons of the arts, they supported some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance,

Giovanni di Bicci, the first Medici arts patron, encouraged Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in 1419.

Cosimo the Elder was a dedicated patron to painters and sculptors, commissioning art and buildings by Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico, Donatello and Ghiberti.

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486). Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A poet and humanist himself, his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent supported the work of Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

Pope Leo X commissioned works from Raphael, while Pope Clement VII hired Michelangelo to painter the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel.

In architecture, the Medici were responsible for the Uffizi Gallery, St Peter’s Basilica, Santa Maria del Fiore, Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, the Medici Chapel and Palazzo Medici.

With the Medici Bank, the family introduced a number of banking innovations which are still in use today – the idea of a holding company, double-entry bookkeeping and lines of credit.

Finally in science, the Medici are remembered for the patronage of Galileo, who tutored multiple generations of the Medici children – for whom he named the four largest moons of Jupiter.

In 1482, Da Vinci wrote a letter to Ludovico Il Moro Sforza, Duke of Milan, making a number of claims about innovative weapons of war, also outlining a rough design for an ‘armoured vehicle’. With a conical shape to deflect enemy fire, interior wheels for movement and holes for an array of cannons, Da Vinci’s armoured vehicle certainly bears similarities to the modern tank.

But Da Vinci’s ‘tank’ wasn’t without its flaws. Modern experts predict it would have been largely immovable due to its weight and that the cannon would have been wildly impractical to use in conflict.

Here’s the history of Da Vinci’s armoured vehicle.

Genius in the service of war

Even a cursory perusal of Da Vinci’s famous notebooks reveals an endlessly curious mind buzzing with ingenious ideas, many of which seem to prefigure much later inventions. Leonardo’s “aerial screw” anticipated the invention of the helicopter, 437 years before the first helicopter took flight, his designs for the first diving suit employ principles that are still in use today and his self-propelled cart concept, which featured braking and pre-programmable steering systems, predicted the car. It’s no exaggeration to say that much of Leonardo’s extraordinary body of work was hundreds of years ahead of its time.

Leonardo’s intellectual curiosity was seemingly limitless, but his motivations weren’t purely cerebral. Nor was he averse to trading on his genius. Leonardo’s research required the backing of powerful and wealthy patrons, and he was pragmatic enough to realise that his ingenuity might be served most profitably in a military context. Given the turbulent power struggles that consumed Italy in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, it’s not hard to see how he came to such a conclusion.

It’s clear from a famous 1482 letter to Ludovico Il Moro Sforza, Duke of Milan and one of Italy’s most powerful military leaders, that Leonardo had no qualms about applying his talents to warfare. The letter, which reads like a pitch, offers Sforza a “brochure of military hardware” and refers to a variety of ‘secrets’ that would dramatically enhance the duke’s military powers.

Leonardo’s armoured tank can be found in the Codex Arudel alongside a Scythed Chariot

Image Credit: Leonardo da Vinci via Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Among numerous claims, Leonardo refers to “certain types of cannon” that will “cause great terror to the enemy, and they will bring great loss and confusion…” as well as “methods for destroying any fortress or redoubt even if it is founded upon solid rock…”

He also promises “armoured cars, totally unassailable, which will penetrate the ranks of the enemy with their artillery, and there is no company of soldiers so great that it can withstand them”.

Leonardo’s bold proposal advertises all manner of military innovations, many of which, including his “armoured cars”, can be found in his notebooks. There’s no evidence that these machines were ever physically realised and it certainly feels like Leonardo’s imagination was getting ahead of itself in his letter to Sforza. Nonetheless, Leonardo’s irrepressible ingenuity is certainly in evidence, and his proto-tank is not without promise.

Leonardo’s armoured vehicle

For all the bravado of his letter to Sforza, Leonardo’s armoured vehicle design, though undoubtedly innovative, is fundamentally flawed. His ‘covered wagon’ design, more often described by modern commenters as ‘the tank’, dates from 1487. Some believe that its basic mechanical flaws can be attributed to Leonardo’s inexperience at the time; later work certainly suggests that he went on to develop a more complete understanding of gear mechanics.

The design features a metal reinforced wooden conical cover, reminiscent of a turtle shell, with slanting angles designed to deflect enemy fire. An array of 16 light cannons would protrude around the perimeter and the vehicle would be propelled by a crank, to be operated by four men.

An interactive prototype of Leonardo’s ‘tank’ is displayed in the Leonardo Interactive Museum in Florence

Image Credit: Leonardo Interactive Museum via Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons

There are numerous flaws in Leonardo’s design. Most fundamentally, the gears are located in a reversed order so that any movement on one crank would cancel out the other, thus immobilising the vehicle. Some scholars believe that such a basic mechanical error must have been intentional – an act of sabotage that might reflect either Leonardo’s pacifism or an attempt to protect his design.

Additionally, the armoured car’s wheels are insufficient to support the weight of its heavy armoured enclosure, while the radial array of cannons, though intimidating, would have likely proved imprecise in targeting enemy troops. Even the innovative conical cover has been deemed functionally problematic and difficult to manufacture en masse.

Ultimately, Leonardo’s armoured car design is just as fanciful as some of the claims he made to Sforza, but perhaps this was the point. The design was never destined to be realised and used on the battlefield, but it did succeed in presenting an intimidating fantasy that would have served Sforza’s political ambitions. Even if it’s a functional non-starter, Leonardo’s proto-tank is an ingenious concept and would have worked as a symbol of unprecedented military potency in 15th-century Italy.

As in the Classical world, Renaissance architecture was characterised by the harmony between human and mathematical proportions.

Key architectural elements of Renaissance buildings included columns, pilasters, pediments, entablatures, arches, and domes.

The three key Renaissance architects were Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, and Andrea Palladio.

Here are 10 key examples of Italian Renaissance architecture.

1. St Peter’s Basilica

Designed by Alberti, Raphael, Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini, St Peter’s Basilica was perhaps the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture.

Its artistry, architectural grandeur and sheer mass cemented the status of Rome as the home of Christianity.

Its iconic dome, designed by Michelangelo, is the tallest in the world.

Inside, St Peters holds some of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance sculpture, including Michelangelo’s Pieta (1500) and the baldachin by Bernini over the main altar.

2. Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore. Image credit: RossHelen / Shutterstock.com

Image Credit: RossHelen / Shutterstock.com

Structurally, Florence Cathedral belongs to the Gothic style. Its dome, however, was a forerunner of Renaissance architecture.

The idea and plan for the entire building had been conceived in 1293, before the Renaissance period, however the technology to complete the dome did not yet exist.

It was not until Fillipo Brunelleschi that the Cathedral was finally given a dome, more than a century later.

Brunelleschi came up with a daring approach to vault the dome space without any scaffolding by using a double shell with a space in between.

With over 4 million bricks, a diameter 45.52m and height of 90m, it was the largest dome in the world until 1881.

3. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella was the first great basilica in Florence and one of the most well-known examples of early Renaissance architecture in Italy.

Its elegant and harmonious marble facade was created by Leon Battista Alberti, who combined the ideals of humanist architecture, proportion and classically inspired detailing.

The church holds frescoes by masters of the early Renaissance, including Masaccio’s ‘The Holy Trinity’.

4. Tempietto del Bramante

Tempietto del Bramante, May 2022. Image credit: Teet Ottin

Image Credit: Teet Ottin

The tiny, round temple by Donato Bramante sits inside the courtyard of the church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome, on the spot where St Peter was crucified.

A small commemorative tomb, the Tempietto (“small temple”) is considered a masterpiece of High Renaissance Italian architecture and thought to be the prototype of St Peter’s Basilica.

5. Palazzo Pitti

The Pitti Palace was first built for the Pitti family and designed by Brunelleschi and built by his pupil Luca Fancelli.

In 1549, it was bought by the Medici family and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

It was later used as a power base by Napoleon in the late 18th century and briefly served as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy.

6. Palazzo Vecchio

View of the Palazzo Vecchio. Image credit: givaga / Shutterstock.com

Image Credit: givaga / Shutterstock.com

The Palazzo Vecchio was the main symbol of civil power for the city of Florence – the cradle of the Italian Renaissance.

The Renaissance masters Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were commissioned to create the murals the ‘Battle of Anghiari’ and ‘Battle of Cascina’.

The so-called Quartieri Monumentali hold artworks by Michelangelo, Giorgio Vasari and Donatello.

7. Basilica of San Lorenzo

Brunelleschi was commissioned to design a replacement of the earlier Romanesque church. However the building was not completed until after his death, and not entirely according to his designs.

It is nonetheless still seen as one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture, featuring architecture and art by Michelangelo and the final works by Donatello.

The basilica is the burial places of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III.

8. Ospedale degli Innocenti

Ospedale degli Innocenti (“Hospital of the Innocents”) was designed by Brunelleschi and originally intended as a children’s orphanage.

Brunelleschi arranged the refectory, cloisters, dormitories, infirmary, nurses, rooms and porticoes to create a harmonious and rational balance.

9. Biblioteca Marciana

Daylight view to Marciana Library facade and Columns of San Marco and San Todaro from Saint Mark’s square, 03 April 2017. Image credit: FrimuFilms / Shutterstock.com

Image Credit: FrimuFilms / Shutterstock.com

Located in Venice’s St Mark’s Square, the Biblioteca Marciana is a masterpiece of Jacopo Sansovino and a key example of Venetian Renaissance architecture.

One of the earliest surviving public libraries, the biblioteca still holds one of the most impressive collections of classical texts in the world.

10. Basilica of Sant’Andrea, Mantua

One of the most important works of 15th century Renaissance architecture in Northern Italy, the Basilica of Sant’Andrea is considered one of Alberti’s most complete works.

Modelled on the Roman triumphal arch, the basilica’s facade is defined by a large central arch flanked by Corinthian pilasters.

Despite being somewhat limited in number, da Vinci’s paintings give us a glimpse into the life of a Renaissance artist, as well as the wider world in which he operated.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in the village of Vinci in the Tuscan hills, about 20 miles outside Florence. Much of his early childhood is relatively obscure, but we do know for certain that around the age of 14, he began working in the studio of the artist Andrea del Verrocchio and became an apprentice aged 17.

The Baptism of Christ (1472-75)

It would be incorrect to say this painting was da Vinci’s: he is thought to have painted parts of it, with the rest being completed by Verrocchio himself. Verrocchio was primarily known for his sculpture, not his painting: one story goes that on seeing how accomplished his apprentice was, Verrocchio quit painting entirely.

The Baptism of Christ was commissioned by Verrocchio’s brother: much of the painting was executed in tempera (pigments mixed in egg yolk), whereas da Vinci’s parts are oil paint – the medium he painted in most often. As such, one of the angels and quite a lot of the landscape and sky is attributed to the young Leonardo.

The Baptism of Christ, by Verrocchio and dan Vinci.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Despite his own burgeoning success – including his father setting him up with his own workshop – da Vinci continued to work for and live with Verrocchio. Around 1478, he received his first independent commissions but these were abandoned, and eventually, he offered his services to Ludovico Sforza, heir to the Duchy of Milan.

Lady With an Ermine (1489-91)

Lady With an Ermine was completed whilst da Vinci was employed by Ludovico Sforza, who would go on to become Duke of Milan in 1494, and is widely regarded as a key figure in the Milanese Renaissance. His depicts his 16 year old mistress, Cecilia Gallerani holding a squirming ermine. Traditionally a symbol of purity and moderation, the ermine was also Sforza’s personal symbol: Gallerani holding the animal tight in her arms is reflective of the grip she had over her lover.

Lady with an Ermine

Image Credit: Public Domain

Gallerani was educated and intelligent: she invited da Vinci to take part in discussions with prominent philosophers of the day. The painting itself was relatively avant-garde for its time: da Vinci painted using oil, rather than fresco or tempera which was the normal medium in Italy at the time.

Having a patron as powerful as Sforza gave da Vinci’s life a degree of stability: there was less to worry about where the next commission would come from, and life would have been a little bit more comfortable and less nomadic as a result.

The Last Supper (1490s)

One of da Vinci’s most famous paintings, The Last Supper was commissioned by Sforza again, this time as part of renovations at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, where the painting would adorn the wall of the refectory (dining hall). Sforza had planned for the site to become a family mausoleum, but in the end only a small mortuary chapel was ever constructed.

Traditionally, a painting like this would have been a fresco: da Vinci instead used a hybrid technique, using oil-based paint (his signature) to paint on a wet wall. In the long term this was a disaster: the paint was flaking off within 30 years, and conservation work has proved endlessly challenging. The fact any of it survives to this day remains a small miracle. Da Vinci used Milanese locals as models for Christ and his disciples, reportedly walking the streets to find people with the features he wanted.

The Last Supper

Image Credit: Public Domain

The Last Supper’s fame comes not from the subject matter: the Biblical scene of Jesus and his disciples is hardly innovative or rare. Instead, the painting has captured the imaginations of thousands through its drama: the familiarity his audience would have had with the story helped da Vinci create a picture which highlights love, betrayal, fear and foreboding within one simple scene.

Salvator Mundi (c.1499-1510)

Salvator Mundi currently holds the record for the most expensive painting in the world, making $450.3 million at auction in 2017. The precise origins of the paintings are obscure – it was certainly a commission, possibly by Louis XII of France for his wife, Anne of Brittany to commemorate various military victories including his taking of the Duchy of Milan and Genoa.

In 1500, Sforza was overthrown and da Vinci fled first to Venice, and later back to Florence, where he entered the household of Cesare Borgia briefly.

Literally translating as ‘Saviour of the World’, Salvator Mundi depicts Jesus in a Renaissance style dress, making the sign of the cross and holding a transparent orb with the other.

The controversial Salvator Mundi, as seen after extensive conservation and restoration work.

Image Credit: Public Domain

The painting is controversial: its attribution is still hotly contested by some art historians. For several hundred years, da Vinci’s original Salvator Mundi was thought to have been lost – serious overpainting had transformed the work into a dark, gloomy work. Da Vinci’s attention to detail on particular features, particularly Christ’s hands, helped convince art historians that this work was in fact by him.

Mona Lisa (1503-6)

The Mona Lisa is one of the few paintings in the world which needs little introduction. With her famously enigmatic smile, it’s believed the subject was Lisa Gherardini – an Italian noblewoman. Married at the age of 15 to a silk and cloth merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, Lisa was his third wife and outlived her husband by many years.

It’s thought Giocondo commissioned this portrait of his wife around 1503 to celebrate the birth of their third child, Andrea. Da Vinci was notoriously reluctant to accept portrait commissions by wealthy patrons, which has led many to hypothesise he was in desperate need of money in 1503.

The Mona Lisa

Image Credit: Public Domain

Lisa Gherardini is portrayed as a woman of virtue, as well as one up to date with the latest fashions. In a gesture of faithfulness, her right hand rests on her left, and her clothes are those of the Spanish-influenced fashions of the time. The original portrait had no smile: this was added later. Da Vinci viewed the work as unfinished, and analysis suggests he was working on it still, 10 years after the commission.

Unlike wealthier Florentine women of the time, critics have pointed out the mystery of the Mona Lisa’s smile is human: she smiles secretively to herself, holding something back from the viewer. Ever since it was purchased by King Francis I in 1516, the Mona Lisa has captivated almost everyone who looks upon her. The Mona Lisa is now housed in the Louvre, where she attracts over 6 million visitors a year.

After the Mona Lisa, only one painting – Saint John the Baptist – is widely believed to be by Leonardo. Continuing to live a somewhat nomadic lifestyle between Milan, Florence and Rome, da Vinci continued to complete commissions, pursue scientific experiments and practice botany.

In 1516, he entered the service of King Francis I of France: by this point, his right hand was partially paralysed. The Mona Lisa was still in his possession, but it seems that he could not really complete much more work on it due to this disability.

Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, leaving two of his close friends his library, paintings and personal effects. At some point in the years following his death, the Mona Lisa was bought by Francis I – who had become a friend of da Vinci – and remains in the possession of the French royal family, and later French state, right up until the present day.

On hearing of the death of his friend da Vinci, King Francis is supposed to have said “There had never been another man born in the world who knew as much as Leonardo”.

Assorted precious objects and family heirlooms change hands at auction regularly, but only a handful command truly astonishing prices and the attention of the world’s press.

1. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi

Smashing the existing record held for the most expensive painting, Salvator Mundi sold for a whopping $450,312,500 at Christie’s New York in 2017. There are only thought to be around 20 of Leonardo’s paintings still in existence, and their scarcity has driven up the value of those remaining significantly.

Literally translating as ‘Saviour of the World’, Salvator Mundi depicts Jesus in a Renaissance style dress, making the sign of the cross and holding a transparent orb with the other.

Reproduction of the painting after restoration by Dianne Dwyer Modestini, a research professor at New York University

Image Credit: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The painting is controversial: its attribution is still hotly contested by some art historians. For several hundred years, da Vinci’s original Salvator Mundi was thought to have been lost – serious overpainting had transformed the painting into a dark, gloomy work.

The painting’s precise location is currently unknown: it was sold to Prince Badr bin Abdullah, who probably bought it on behalf of Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

2. Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Pendant

In 2018, one of the most important collections of royal jewellery ever seen in an auction house was sold by the Italian royal house of Bourbon-Parma at Sotheby’s Geneva. Amongst these priceless pieces was a large drop-shaped freshwater pearl hanging from a diamond encrusted bow which once belonged to the ill-fated Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

A pearl and Diamond Pendant owned by Queen of France Marie Antoinette, 12 October 2018 (left) / Marie-Antoinette, 1775 (right)

Image Credit: UPI, Alamy Stock Photo (left) / After Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (right)

The piece is believed to have been smuggled out of Paris in 1791, first to Brussels and then to Vienna. Several years later, the jewels found their way into the hands of the only surviving daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who later bequeathed it to her niece, the Duchess of Parma.

Whilst the precise piece isn’t known to be in any portraits, Marie Antoinette was famous for her penchant for extravagant diamond and pearl jewellery.

3. Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester

Another of Leonardo’s works tops the record for the most expensive book ever sold at auction. The 72 page Codex Leicester sold at Christie’s New York for $30.8 million to an anonymous buyer, who it was later revealed was none other than Microsoft billionaire, Bill Gates.

Written between 1508 and 1510, the codex uses mirror writing to create a distinctive kind of code. Codex Leicester is full of his musings on a variety of subjects, as well as over 360 sketches for inventions including things like the snorkel and submarine. The name derives from the Earls of Leicester, who owned the codex since 1717: it’s also known as the Codex Hammer, after its last owner, the American industrialist Armand Hammer.

Page of the Codex Leicester

Image Credit: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The codex remains one of the few significant manuscripts by Leonardo offered for sale on the open market since 1850, which helps explain the fact the codex sold for more than double its original estimate.

Gates decided to digitise the codex, make it freely available on the internet. He also had the pages of the codex unbound and individually mounted on glass planes. They have since been displayed in cities around the world.

4. The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar

Touted as the most expensive coin in the world, the Flowing Hair Silver Dollar holds the record for the most expensive coin at auction, changing hands for $10 million in 2013. The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar was the first coin issued by the United States Federal Government and was minted between 1794 and 1795 before being replaced by the Draped Bust dollar.

Both sides of the Flowing Hair dollar

Image Credit: United States Mint, Smithsonian Institution, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

These new dollars had their silver content based on the silver content in Spanish pesos, thus tying its value to existing coinage. The coin depicts the allegorical figure of Liberty, with detailed flowing hair: on the reverse is the United States eagle, surrounded by a wreath.

Even in the 19th century, the coin was considered to be valuable – a collector’s item – and its price has only continued to rise since. The coin is 90% silver and 10% copper.

5. British Guiana One Cent Magenta Stamp

The most expensive stamp in the world, and the most expensive item in the world if you were to measure by weight, this rare stamp sold for a record $9.4 million in 2014, and is believed to be the only remaining one of its kind in existence.

Originally worth 1 cent, the stamp was issued in 1856 for use on local newspapers, while its counterparts, a 4c magenta and 4c blue were for postage. Due to a shortage, a handful of unique 1c magenta stamp designs were printed with a ship image added to them.

The British Guiana stamp issued in 1856

Image Credit: Joseph Baum and William Dallas printers for local postmaster, E.T.E. Dalton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

As such, even in its day it was an anomaly: it was sold in 1873 for 6 shillings to a local collector, who was intrigued by its absence from collectors’ catalogues. It has continued to change hands semi-regularly, for increasingly large sums of money. None of the other run of these unorthodox stamps have been located.

6. Andy Warhol’s The Shot Sage Blue Marilyn

The Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol, 29 April 2022

Image Credit: UPI / Alamy Stock Photo

This iconic silk-screen image of Marilyn Monroe sold for a record-breaking $195 million at a 2022 New York auction, becoming the most expensive 20th-century artwork of all time. The painting was based on one of her promotional photos for the 1953 movie Niagara. Warhol created it and other very similar works following the actress’ death in 1962. Based on reports, the buyer was the American art dealer Larry Gagosian.

Occurring in the 15th and 16th centuries, it pulled Europe out of the ‘Dark Ages’ and towards the Enlightenment, through a world-altering return to ancient ideals. While the Renaissance had vastly far-reaching implications, it was in fact born in a small Mediterranean nation with an illustrious past – Italy.

Here are 5 reasons why the Renaissance began there, from its place in the ancient world to the role of the Vatican City.

1. It had been the heart of the Roman Empire

One of the key aspects of the Renaissance was its significant revival of the artistic and philosophical ideals of antiquity, particularly those of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Thus, where better to begin than the old epicentre of the Roman Empire? Italy was still littered with the ruined temples, sculptures, and frescoes of its glorious past, affording Renaissance artists a host of clear and immediate templates on which to base their work.

Prized statues of antiquity were continuously being unearthed in Italy throughout the period, giving artists such as Michelangelo new considerations on the human form. He was present at the excavation of Laocoön and his Sons in 1506, a vast sculpture once displayed in the palace of Emperor Titus and likely crafted between 27 BC and 68 AD.

Michelangelo was given special access to study it, and found it an inspiring example of how to depict the human body and its muscles in ways that did not necessarily display strength.

Laocoön and His Sons by sculptors Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus of Rhodes, c.27 BC – 68 AD. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

2. Extensive scholarly activity recovered vital ancient works

Despite being at the heart of the old empire and retaining many of its physical works, many of its ingenious texts had been lost to time, leaving a hugely important aspect of the Renaissance unaccounted for. It would take the fall of another great empire for many of them to resurface in Italy.

The Fourth Crusade of the 13th century had weakened the Byzantine Empire substantially, and in 1453 Constantinople at last fell to the Ottomans. Over this turbulent period, a huge community of Byzantine scholars were forced to flee into the north of Italy, bringing with them a host of classical texts preserved in their libraries.

Humanist scholars from Italy then began searching monastic libraries for similar lost works. In the library of Monte Cassino near Rome, Boccaccio discovered influential work by the Roman historian Tacitus, while Poggio Bracciolini travelled monasteries in Switzerland, France and Germany looking for similar treasures. 

At the abbey of St Galen he discovered a complete copy of the lost Institutio oratoria of Quintilian, while at the abbey of Cluny in 1414 a set of Cicero’s speeches were found and brought back to Italy.

The rediscovery of these works prompted new study into human thought and action by writers such as Petrarch and Dante, and likely influenced infamous political tracts such as The Prince by Machiavelli. These lost texts too influenced art, with Vitruvius’ rediscovered work on architectural and bodily perfection leading Leonardo da Vinci to create his Vitruvian Man, now one of the most recognisable artworks in history.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, c. 1492. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

3. Its city-states allowed art and new ideas to flourish

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy was divided into a number of city-states each with a powerful ruling family at its head. Such families include the Aragons of Naples, the Sforzas of Milan and the infamous Medicis of Florence.

The Medici family had a huge hand in the explosion of arts and culture that occurred in their city, leading Florence to be widely considered the home of the Renaissance itself. Founding the eminent Medici Bank in 1397, the family became valuable patrons to some of the country’s greatest artists.

Lorenzo de’ Medici supported the work of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century, while Medici Popes Leo X and Clement VII commissioned work from Raphael and Michelangelo, with the latter painting the world-famous Sistine Chapel on Clement VII’s request.

As families such as the Medicis were patrician rather than noble, many viewed them as friends of the people. Other merchant families were too allowed significant power and influence, including on the management of laws concerning banking, shipping and trade.

Much freer societies thus existed than in the cloistered monarchical and aristocratic systems of northern Europe, and ideas and cultures were more widely circulated. Not without some healthy competition, the magnificent city-states of Italy also competed for who could build the most beautiful cities and output the most breathtaking art, forcing a rapid explosion of fine works and culture to occur.

Florence in the late 15th century. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

4. Vast trading links encouraged cultural and material exchange

As many of Italy’s powerful city-states were located on a peninsular of the Mediterranean sea, it became a hotbed for trading goods and ideas. Different cultures came through Italy’s ports every day as merchants from around the world interacted with those in the marketplace and inns they stayed in.

Trade routes as far as China and the Middle East terminated in Venice and Genoa, while routes from England and Scandinavia also operated frequently. Not only did this create a melting pot of cultures, it also made the city-states and their merchant class very wealthy, with access to a vast array of commodities.

Some of the most literally important of these were the sale of pigments, used in the paints of Renaissance artists. Venice was the main point of entry for pigmented goods, from verdigris (green from Greece) to the rare lapis lazuli of Central Asia.

The vast range of colours at artists’ disposal allowed them to play with new and striking shades, achieving the vibrant artwork so iconic to the Italian Renaissance today.

5. The Vatican was a rich and powerful patron

With the Vatican City situated in Rome, the centre of the Roman Catholic Church brought with it massive wealth and influence. It collected the greatest minds of the day in its religious colleges who, plied with funds and texts, worked to further understand the relationship between man and God. Many of its popes commissioned talented artists to design and decorate their churches and palaces, with some of the Renaissance’s most sublime works emulating Catholic iconography and the stories of the Bible.

The engraving by Stefan du Pérac was published in 1569, five years after the death of Michelangelo. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Church and the Renaissance did not always live in harmony however. While the Papacy was surrounded by immense wealth, it was also couched in corruption. Renaissance thinkers began to question the idea of assigned power and the Church’s role in their relationship with God, as well as their increasingly secularised conduct.

Reversely, some members of the church found the Renaissance to be increasingly indulgent and frivolous, leading to events such as the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497, in which vast amounts of books, cosmetics, and art was publicly burned in Florence by friar Girolamo Savonarola.

This conflict of ideas would be seen resolutely in the decades to come, as humanist concepts gradually disseminated throughout Europe and eventually gave rise to the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five thesis to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenburg, declaring the Catholic Church’s corruption – and his defiance of their authority – to all.

As well as being responsible for world-famous paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, the Renaissance man was also a highly talented anatomist, zoologist, geologist, mathematician and military engineer (to name but a few), whose insatiable curiosity about the world around him knew no bounds.

During the course of his life – from his early days in Florence, right through to his final years in France – the polymath sketched out ideas and recorded scientific investigations on thousands of sheets of paper, gathered today in volumes known as codices.

In this article we delve into Leonardo’s notes and pick out 10 of his most impressive inventions and feats of engineering – some of which foreshadow innovations of more recent times.

1. Ornithopters

Among his numerous scientific interests, Leonardo harboured a particular obsession with flight. By studying the anatomy of birds, he hoped to build a machine that would one day allow humans to join them in the skies.

Towards the end of his life, the polymath gathered his thoughts on the topic in a text known as the Codice sul volo degli uccelli (‘Codex on the Flight of Birds’), written around 1505–06.

However, concepts for so-called flying machines were sketched throughout Leonardo’s career. Typically, the contraptions he drew were ‘ornithopters’, with membrane-covered wings designed to flap up and down.

Whether lying horizontally or standing in an upright position, the pilot would have operated the machines using pedals and levers – very much relying on their physical strength to get off the ground and stay airborne.

Detail from one of Leonardo da Vinci’s many flying machine designs, c1485. The drawing appears in a collection of sketches and notes known as Manuscript B, held by the Institut de France in Paris (Image Credit: Public Domain).

2. Helical air screw

Another notable flying machine design (pictured below) can be found in a collection of Leonardo’s papers known today as Manuscript B. Sketched during the 1480s, the device – sometimes dubbed the ‘helical air screw’ – bears more than a passing resemblance to a modern helicopter.

Instead of individual rotor blades, however, Leonardo’s invention features a single, screw-shaped blade, designed to ‘bore’ into the air and allow the machine to ascend vertically.

Unfortunately, none of Leonardo’s flying machines would have actually worked. Not only would the materials have been too heavy, but human muscle power alone simply isn’t sufficient for such devices to take flight.

A modern-day model of Leonardo’s helical air screw, which predates the invention of the helicopter by more than 400 years (Image Credit: Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0)

3. Parachute

As well as building machines that would enable humans to soar up into the clouds, Leonardo was also interested in creating devices that would allow people to descend from great heights.

In a drawing found in the Codex Atlanticus, Leonardo depicts a contraption resembling a parachute, constructed from reinforced cloth and wooden poles. Designed to be “12 arms wide and 12 tall”, the device, Leonardo writes, would enable a man to leap off a tall structure “without hurting himself”.

A miniature version of Leonardo’s pyramid-shaped parachute, which was successfully tested by a British skydiver in 2000. The original design is found in the Codex Atlanticus in Milan (Image Credit: Nevit Dilmen / CC).

In June 2000, a British skydiver named Adrian Nicholas constructed his own replica of Leonardo’s ‘parachute’, which he tested by jumping out of a hot-air balloon positioned 10,000 feet above the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa.

Although he deployed a conventional parachute shortly before landing, Nicholas sailed towards earth strapped to Leonardo’s device for a total of five minutes, reporting a surprisingly smooth descent.

4. Self-supporting bridge

Leonardo was employed by a number of powerful patrons throughout his life, including Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI.

Of the numerous contraptions Leonardo invented for his patrons, one of the simplest – but most effective – is a portable wooden bridge that appears in the Codex Atlanticus.

A modern incarnation of Leonardo’s self-supporting bridge, constructed in Denmark. The simple structure was designed to be erected in a matter of minutes, making it ideal for military use (Image Credit: Cntrading / CC).

Designed to help armies cross bodies of water, the bridge is made up of several notched wooden poles, erected without the need for any screws or other fastenings.

As demonstrated by modern replicas (like that pictured above), the pressure created by the interlocking beams keeps the whole structure firmly in place.

5. Giant crossbow

A more famous military invention, sketched c1490, is also found in the Codex Atlanticus.

Commonly dubbed the ‘giant crossbow’, the ludicrously large contraption (as demonstrated by the size of the man in the drawing, below) was designed to launch projectiles such as boulders.

While there is no evidence to suggest a working prototype was ever built, Leonardo believed that the sheer sight of such weapons would strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.

Leonardo’s ‘giant crossbow’, accompanied by notes written in his characteristic mirror-writing script. The weapon – although never built – was deliberately designed to be intimidating (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Overall, the crossbow was one of a number of siege weapons that Leonardo drew after studying the works of an earlier military engineer named Roberto Valturio, who published a treatise named De re militari (‘On the Military Arts’) in 1472.

Other such contraptions are depicted on the same sheet as the crossbow, improving on Valturio’s designs.

6. Armoured fighting vehicle

Alongside his so-called ‘helicopter’ and ‘parachute’, Leonardo designed several other contraptions that foreshadow innovations of more recent times.

Among them is the armoured car that appears in the Codex Arundel (below), which has often been likened to a modern tank.

Conceived in c1487, the conical vehicle is depicted with cannons around its full circumference, allowing it to attack from 360 degrees.

Crucially, the soldiers inside the tank would have been protected from enemy fire thanks to metal plates reinforcing its wooden shell.

Leonardo’s sketch of a fighting vehicle or ‘tank’, which appears among the pages of the Codex Arundel at the British Library (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Unusually for a man of his engineering ability, the gears in Leonardo’s supporting drawings are configured in such a way that renders the vehicle immobile.

This may have been a genuine mistake, but some historians have posited that Leonardo incorporated the error on purpose, just in case in his notes were ever stolen and someone else tried to copy the design.

7. Equestrian sculpture

Although ostensibly employed by Ludovico Sforza as a military engineer, Leonardo also pledged that he would build a huge equestrian monument as a memorial to the duke’s late father, Francesco.

In order to create the sculpture – intended to be 24 feet high – Leonardo carefully studied the anatomy of horses, and undertook calculations to work out how much bronze would be needed.

Most crucially of all, Leonardo also came up with innovative new methods for the casting process, which involved designing complex machinery to construct the moulds required.

An early study for Leonardo’s equestrian monument for the Duke of Milan, dated c1490. He later simplified the design, realising that it would be too complicated to make a reality (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Unfortunately, the scheme was put on hold following the outbreak of the Italian Wars in the 1490s, and Milan’s bronze supplies were diverted to make weapons instead.

Then, when French troops entered Milan in 1499 and Sforza was overthrown, the project was abandoned for good. According to one story, the invading soldiers used Leonardo’s massive clay model of the sculpture for target practice.

8. Diving suits

Following the invasion of Milan, Leonardo fled the city state and spent a brief stint in Venice.

As his temporary new home was also under threat from foreign powers (this time by the Ottoman empire), the polymath again offered his services as a military engineer.

In the Codex Arundel, Leonardo depicts designs for diving suits made from leather, complete with glass goggles and cane tubing.

In theory, the suits would have allowed Venetian soldiers to walk on the seabed and sabotage enemy ships from below – their breathing made possible by air tanks floating on the water’s surface.

One of Leonardo’s designs for underwater breathing apparatus (found in the Codex Arundel), alongside a modern museum exhibit showing how the mask would have fit over the diver’s head (Image Credit: Public Domain / Public Domain).

9. The ‘robot’

As well as flying machines, bridges and weapons, Leonardo also made contraptions designed purely for entertainment.

Around 1495, he drew up plans for a mechanical knight – an armour-clad ‘robot’ that could sit up, move its head, and even wave a sword in its hands.

Having immersed himself in the study of anatomy, Leonardo knew how to make the knight’s complex system of gears and pulleys emulate the movements of the human body as closely as possible.

While a complete drawing of the knight doesn’t survive, American robotics expert Mark Rosheim managed to construct a successful working replica in 2002 using Leonardo’s notes.

A miniature model of Leonardo’s mechanical knight and its inner workings on display in Berlin. Fragments of the original design were not discovered until the 1950s (Image Credit: Public Domain).

10. Mechanical lion

Another impressive automaton was conceived towards the end of Leonardo’s life, when – under the employ of Giuliano de’ Medici (brother of Pope Leo X) – he built a mechanical lion as a diplomatic gift for King Francis I of France.

According to contemporary reports, the beast could walk, move its head, and open its chest to reveal fleurs-de-lys.

As it happens, Leonardo entered the king’s service in 1516. He was given his own house in the Loire Valley, where he died three years later, aged 67.

Leonardo was buried in Amboise inside a small chapel located within the grounds of the royal castle – a relatively modest final resting place for one of the greatest minds the world has ever seen.

A drawing of the castle at Amboise, France – the town where Leonardo spent the final years of his life. The sketch is attributed to his assistant, Francesco Melzi (Image Credit: Public Domain).

Inspired by imperial Rome, the Renaissance popes strove to make Rome the capital of Christendom through art, architecture and literature.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, they commissioned building and art projects and hired the best architects and artists, such as Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

As Renaissance Rome became the epicentre of art, science and politics, its religious role declined – sparking the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

Here are the 18 popes of the Renaissance in order.

1. Pope Martin V (r. 1417–1431)

Pope Martin V (Credit: Pisanello).

The ‘Great Schism of 1378’ left the Church in a crisis and divided for 40 years. The election of Martin V as the sole Pope in Rome effectively ended this turmoil and reestablished the papacy in Rome.

Martin V laid the foundation for Roman Renaissance by engaging some famous masters of the Tuscan school to restore dilapidated churches, palaces, bridges and other public structures.

Outside of Italy, he worked to mediate the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between France and England and to organise crusades against the Hussites.

2. Pope Eugene IV (r. 1431–1447)

Eugene IV’s tenure was marked by conflict – first with the Colonnas, relatives of his predecessor Martin V, and then with the Concillar movement.

He tried unsuccessfully to reunite the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and faced crushing defeat after preaching a crusade against the advance of the Turks.

He also allowed Prince Henry of Portugal to make slave raids on the northwestern coast of Africa.

3. Pope Nicholas V (r. 1447–1455)

Paus Nicolas V by Peter Paul Rubens , 1612-1616 (Credit: Museum Plantin-Moretus).

Nicholas V was a key influential figure in the Renaissance, rebuilding churches, restoring aqueducts and public works.

He was also the patron of many scholars and artists – among them the great Florentine painter Fra Angelico (1387–1455). He ordered design plans for what would eventually be St Peter’s Basilica.

His reign saw the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks and the end of the Hundred Years War. By 1455 he had restored peace to the Papal States and to Italy.

4. Pope Callixtus III (r. 1455–1458)

A member of the powerful Borgia family, Callixtus III made a heroic yet unsuccessful crusade to recover Constantinople from the Turks.

5.  Pope Pius II (r. 1458–1464)

A passionate humanist, Pius II was famed for his literary gifts. His I commentarii (‘Commentaries’) is the only revealed autobiography ever to have been written by a reigning pope.

His papacy was characterised by a failed attempt to mount a crusade against the Turks. He even urged the Sultan Mehmed II to reject Islam and accept Christianity.

6. Pope Paul II (r. 1464–1471)

The pontificate of Paul II was marked by pageantry, carnivals and colourful races.

He spent huge sums amassing a collection of art and antiquities, and built the magnificent Palazzo di Venezia in Rome.

7. Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471–1484)

Sixtus IV by Titian, c. 1545 (Credit: Uffizi Gallery).

Under Sixtus IV’s reign, Rome was transformed from a medieval to a fully Renaissance city.

He commissioned great artists including Sandro Botticelli and Antonio del Pollaiuolo, and was responsible for the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Archives.

Sixtus IV aided the Spanish Inquisition and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy.

8. Pope Innocent VIII (r. 1484–1492)

Generally regarded as a man of low morals, Innocent VIII’s political manoeuvres were unscrupulous.

He deposed King Ferdinand of Naples in 1489, and depleted the papal treasury by waging wars with several Italian states.

9. Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492–1503)

Pope Alexander VI by Cristofano dell’Altissimo (Credit: Vasari Corridor).

A member of the prominent Borgia family, Alexander VI was one of the most controversial Renaissance popes.

Corrupt, worldly and ambitious, he used his position to ensure that his children – who included Cesare, Gioffre and Lucrezia Borgia – would be well provided for.

During his reign, his surname Borgia becoming a byword for libertinism and nepotism.

10. Pope Pius III (r. 1503)

The nephew of Pope Pius II, Pius III had one of the shortest pontificates in papal history. He died less than a month after beginning his papacy, possibly of poison.

11. Pope Julius II (r. 1503–1513)

Pope Julius II by Raphael (Credit: National Gallery).

One of the most powerful and influential popes of the Renaissance period, Julius II was the greatest papal patron of the arts.

He is best remembered for his friendship with Michelangelo and for his patronage of great artists including Raphael and Bramante.

He initiated the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica, commissioned the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel.

12. Pope Leo X (r. 1513–1521)

Pope Leo X by Raphael, 1518-1519 (Credit Uffizi Gallery).

The second son of Lorenzo de’ Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic, Leo X built up the Vatican Library, accelerated the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica and poured lavish funds into the arts.

His efforts to renew Rome’s position as a cultural centre drained the papal treasury entirely.

He refused to accept the legitimacy of the Protestant Reformation and excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521. In doing so, he contributed to the dissolution of the Church.

13. Pope Adrian VI (r. 1522–1523)

A Dutchman, Adrian VI was the last non-Italian pope until John Paul II, 455 years later.

He came to the papacy as the Church was experiencing a huge crisis, threatened by Lutheranism and the advance of the Ottoman Turks to the east.

14. Pope Clement VII (r. 1523–1534)

Pope Clement VII by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1531 (Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum).

Clement VII’s reign was dominated by religious and political turmoil: the spread of the Protestant Reformation, Henry VIII’s divorce and conflict between France and the Empire.

He is remembered as a weak, vacillating figure who switched allegiance between King Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V, several times.

15. Pope Paul III (r. 1534–1549)

Generally credited with beginning the Counter Reformation, Paul III introduced reforms that helped shaped Roman Catholicism for centuries after.

He was a significant patron of artists including Michelangelo, supporting his completion of ‘the Last Judgment’ in the Sistine Chapel.

He also resumed the work on St. Peter’s Basilica, and promoted urban restoration in Rome.

16. Pope Julius III (r. 1550–1555)

Pope Julius III by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, 1550-1600 (Credit: Rijksmuseum).

The papacy of Julius III is generally remembered for its scandals – particularly his relationship with his adopted nephew, Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte.

The two openly shared a bed, with Del Monte becoming an infamous beneficiary of papal nepotism.

After Julius III’ death, Del Monte was later convicted for committing several crimes of murder and rape.

17. Pope Marcellus II (r. 1555)

Remembered as one of the great directors of the Vatican Library, Marcellus II died from exhaustion less than a month after being elected pope.

18. Pope Paul IV (r. 1555–1559)

Pope Paul IV (Credit: Andreas Faessler / CC).

Paul IV’s papacy was characterised by strong nationalism – his anti-Spanish outlook renewed the war between France and the Habsburgs.

He was fervently opposed to the presence of Jews in Rome and decreed the building of the city’s ghetto within which the Roman Jews were forced to live and work.