The rooms are divided into different categories, including the “Room of Machines or Flying Objects,” as well as a “Room of Fire,” “Water,” and “Earth.” This division makes it easy for visitors to understand how diverse and wide-ranging Leonardo da Vinci’s experimental considerations and scientific theories were.

Honestly, it wasn’t clear to me before the visit that he also designed war machines. However, in Milan, he worked for Duke Ludovico Sforza, who was involved in several wars. For example, the armored vehicle was one of da Vinci’s inventions. It’s a vehicle that allows for a 360-degree firing range due to its round platform and is powered by the strength of eight men who operate hand cranks inside the tank.

Leonardo da Vinci also designed a diving suit for maritime warfare: a full-body leather suit with two glass openings for the eyes. Weights were supposed to push the diver downwards, and a hose from above would provide him with breathable air. However, this design severely restricted freedom of movement underwater. The suit was never manufactured because his employer, the Duke of Milan, had no direct access to the sea, rendering it unnecessary.

You can see the diving suit, as well as a swimmer with flippers and a lifebuoy, in a room dating back to 43 BC, the tomb of Consul Aulus Irzio. The tomb was made of tuff and travertine and was located precisely in the ancient area of Campo Marzio (Field of Mars). Although the water in the pool was very dirty, it was still interesting to encounter two different time periods.

Before heading back up to the 21st century, you pass through a room where Leonardo’s flying machines and flight experiments are illustrated. Even though his flight experiments were not entirely successful, his 1485 design of the parachute remains a historically valuable and visionary idea. He probably never tested the parachute himself. Whether it would have really worked is doubtful, since the construction was too heavy and likely wouldn’t have allowed a 1.70-meter-tall man to land smoothly on the ground.

Jesus remains calm, while the surrounding apostles gesture and appear agitated. The longer you look at the painting, the more mathematical calculations and details become apparent. For instance, Jesus’ pose can be framed within an equilateral triangle, which provides the image with expression and stability.

The color of his clothing is pure, with one side being red and the other blue. In contrast, the disciples around him have various color combinations in their garments. This also draws attention to the center of the image.

Before I continue, I must draw attention to the “problem” of the artist. Leonardo and his works are so fascinating that one could write thousands of words about each one. Since that would likely exceed the scope here, let’s move on to selected inventions found in the museum, even though there’s much more to say about “The Last Supper.”

The air screw, due to its size and central position in the room, attracts a lot of attention. Around 1487 to 1490, da Vinci explored the principle of lift in a spiral form and sketched his invention called the “Helix Pteron.” Four people were supposed to turn the screw or spiral made of linen fabric, causing the frame to ascend. Although his invention couldn’t be implemented at the time, it served as the basis for the development of the helicopter 450 years later.

Passing by a display case with miniatures of his inventions, books, and experimental materials, you descend into the museum’s basement, where you have the opportunity to build Leonardo’s bridge construction in simple steps. The stability of the bridge is achieved through the weaving principle, so nails, screws, or ropes are not needed to fix the individual parts.

Ten steps away, you can test something else: the mirror cabinet. Leonardo da Vinci believed that with the help of eight mirrors, one could view objects from all perspectives without having to move. Multiple reflections provide insight into the interaction of light and shadow. In his opinion, mirrors were the true teachers of artists.

Through a long hall, where inventions like the bicycle or the crank wagon are displayed, you continue into the art exhibition.

The crank wagon can be seen as a precursor to the car. Leonardo’s focus was on transferring motion to the wheel axis. The driving force of the vehicle comes from a crankshaft mounted above the rear wheel axle. The bicycle, which closely resembles a modern bicycle in terms of its mechanics and appearance, is actually thanks to Leonardo’s student Salai. Nevertheless, it’s astonishing that the idea of a bicycle with handlebars, saddle, front and rear wheel, and a chain already existed in 1493.

In the last room, you get a glimpse into the fascinating world of art paintings. Smaller and larger works are well arranged and illuminated on a black wall. Copies of works like Bacchus (1510-1515), John the Baptist (1513-1516), or the Mona Lisa (1503) can be observed and analyzed thanks to the audio guide.

The magnificent artworks of Leonardo are scattered throughout the rooms, interspersed among his brilliant inventions. It’s hard to know which objects to focus on.

The various machines and inventions are closely packed together and equipped with English and Italian information panels. Small symbols indicate whether you can test the functionality of the object or not.

Technical findings, such as the projector (Camera Obscura), are displayed without much care in the corner. However, Leonardo had already defined the functioning principle of a modern camera around 1500! He showed that images of illuminated objects passing through a dark room with a hole in the wall are projected upside down because the rays intersect!!!

The attempt to enhance the exhibition with multimedia installations has failed miserably. Some walls are used for displaying videos. However, since the area in front of and beside them is filled with other objects, the impact of the videos is completely lost.

There is also a video room where you can sit on bean bags on the floor and watch horses, machines, and flying objects in motion on three screens. According to a German-speaking couple who were following the tour behind me, the only truly interesting part of these multimedia presentations (and the exhibition as a whole) was the large touch screen. On this screen, you could browse through the various inventions and sketches of the genius like an e-book and get more detailed information.

In addition to the many objects such as the diving suit, tank, bicycle, bridge, or the mirror cabinet, there were also many paintings on display here that clearly showed that Leonardo da Vinci was also a biologist.

As a co-founder of experimental natural sciences, he delved into human anatomy, embryology, and fossils. He dissected about 30 human bodies – even though it was forbidden for religious reasons at the time! He conducted these studies on deceased individuals secretly. However, these studies allowed him to create relatively detailed drawings of the human skull, muscles, and internal organs. When he lacked a human subject for examination, such as in the case of a fetus in the womb, he turned to animals (cattle) for assistance.

In addition to biology, da Vinci was also interested in physics. He believed that the sun, not the Earth, was the center of the planetary system. He tried to prove his ideas through experiments. His writings and sketches became interesting to scientists like Galileo Galilei 100 years later, who based some of his work on them.