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TOURISM
| VINCI
Leonardo's Home Town - The
borough of Vinci numbers 14 thousand
inhabitants. It is situated in the heart of
Tuscany, only a few kilometres from Florence
and Pistoia, a stone's throw from Pisa, and
within an hour's drive from Lucca and Siena.
Vinci extends over an area of 54 sq. km., with
a minimum altitude of 26m at Sovigliana and a
maximum of 640m on Montalbano (Cupolino),
where the greater part of the borough
territory may be found. |
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Vinci,
Leonardo's home town, lies in the heart of the
most verdant countryside. This gives the
surrounding landscape a magical and enchanted
quality, worthy of the most suggestive of
Leonardo's images.
History
In
former times, Vinci was inhabited by the Etruscans,
and later became a Roman "castrum".
The primitive castle building dates back to the
height of the Middle Ages and, around the year
1000, was dominated by the Conti Guidi, whose
possession was confirmed in 1164 by Frederick
Barbarossa and in 1220 by Frederick Il of Sweden.
On August 12, 1254, Vinci succumbed to Florentine
dominion and was transformed into a borough.
As it was situated on the western borders of the
state, Vinci was contended by Florence's enemies;
it was also directly involved in the events caused
by those factions which tormented life in the
capital. In 1315, Uguccione della Faggiuola's
troops fought under Vinci's walls; in 1320-26,
John Hawkwood, dubbed "The Acute", was
at the head of the English mercenaries hired by
Pisa. |
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The Castle
Through
the centuries, the original structure of the
Conti Guidi Castle underwent various
alterations by its numerous proprietors. It
was returned to the borough of Vinci by Count
Julius Masetti da Bagnano, in 1919, for the
restoration of the Leonardo Museum. The museum,
which dates back to 1953, was composed of a
series of machines inspired by Leonardo.
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In
the new arrangement, the models have been
inserted in a larger, more comprehensive
exhibition and are accompanied by descriptive
notes. The series of reconstructions using
real dimensions compares Leonardo's designs in
relation to movement on land, sea and air to
analogous mechanisms thought up by technicians
and inventors before, during and after
Leonardo's lifetime.
The Conti Guidi Castle is commonly referred to
as "The Ship's Castle", due to its
long shape and tower which recall the outline
of a sailing-boat. Here you can also find the
frescoes and sculptures of the various coats
of arms, which evoke the former podestà, and
Giovanni della Robbia's splendid ceramic,
"The Madonna and Child".
"The Man from Vinci", a large wooden
sculpture by Mario Ceroli, inspired by
Leonardo's Vitruvian man, was erected in the
square opposite the castle in 1987.
Near the Conti Guidi Castle lies Santa Croce
Parish Church. It is filled with relics of
great local historical interest and is of
Romanesque origin with various modifications;
the bell tower dates back to 1852, the
interior and façade to 1929, the new
baptistry to 1952, containing the salvaged
baptismal font where, according to tradition,
Leonardo was christened. |
The
environs
About
3 km from Vinci, at Anchiano, lies the house where
Leonardo was born. It was restored in 1986 and adds an
interesting finishing touch to a tour of the museum.
The landscape surrounding the house is still very
similar to the one Leonardo had contemplated and drawn
since childhood. That is why it was decided, during
the repairs, to decorate the house with examples of
how Leonardo was able to "see" and interpret
nature. Inside the house are the reproductions of
several drawings representing views of the Tuscan
countryside and a map of the Arno valley, traced by
Leonardo himself.
At present, a new museum building is being prepared in
the proximity of the Conti Guidi Castle to host the
"Leda di Vinci", a superb painting from the
school of Leonardo, assigned to the borough of Vinci
by the Minister of Fine Arts. The new museum will be
devoted to the theme of Leonardo the painter, thus
completing and encapsulating the Leonardian itinerary
of the museum, birthplace and library.
The arrival of the " Leda" at Vinci will
thus fill "the gap caused by the lack of any
original work by Leonardo or his group in his native
town".
The Vinci itinerary is completed by Leonardo's Library,
which now represents an authoritative reference point
for the study of the works and thoughts of Leonardo
and his times. The collection includes the complete
series of reproductions of Leonardo's manuscripts and
drawings and a detailed documentation in many
languages of the most important publications and
monographs.
Since 1972, the Museum of the Agricultural Community
has stood in Via Montalbano, in the historical centre
. It forms a part of the great Castle Cellars and
includes the collection of a vast range of antique
farming implements. After large-scale renovations, the
new "Ideal Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Art and
the Utopia of Science" has also been dedicated to
the exposition of material from various exhibitions on
Leonardo which have taken place in recent years both
in Italy and abroad.
Apart from Leonardo, other famous people are
associated with Vinci: another great artist from the
same family was born here, the sculptor Pierfrancesco
da Vinci, known as Pierino (around 1530 - 1554),
Leonardo's nephew to whom Vasari dedicated one of his
famous "Vite"; at Dianella there are the
house and tomb of the poet Renato Fucini; the national
hero Giuseppe Garibaldi lived, in 1867, as a guest in
the two historical villas of the Ferrales and the
Martellis.
Again within the borough, 4 km from the chief town, is
the "Pieve di San Giovanni in Greti" at San
Ansano. Mentioned in a diploma of Ottone III in the
year 998, it stands as one of the most interesting
monuments of Romanesque art in the Tuscan countryside.
Moreover, Vinci is famous for the excellence and
authenticity of its local products, its extra virgin
olive oil and wines (Chianti Putto Montalbano, Chianti
D.O.C.G. ).
Vinci promotes various cultural events throughout the
year: the Leonardo celebrations in April and the July
Fair which, in the past few years, has revived the
traditional historical commemoration of the
"Flight of Cecco Santi" from the Castle
Tower.
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