Carlo Pedretti Books

Attempts to explain who this great genius was and why he became such a creative man. His inquisitive mind led him to investigate every field of knowledge and his life's work is an extraordinary synthesis of art, science and technology.

At a time of growing interest in Leonardo's work which coincides with the City of Vinci's efforts to remodel and enlarge its Museum, this publication like other studies and promotional activities under way in various Vincian centers (from Florence to Milan, from Amboise to Los Angeles), offers useful information to a wide variety of readers. This book also seems to analyze correctly both the myth of Leonardo and the current interest in him while summing up the essential contribution of Da Vinci to Renaissance science and technology. These results are obtained by means of a vast photographic documentation and the introduction of interpretative data. Therefore we would like to express our appreciation of this venture and of those responsible for its completion. Liliano Bartolesi Mayor of Vinci (from notes in this book)

Leonardo's fame is bound up in great works whose background is obscure.

Leonardo da Vinci was the true Renaissance man. Not only was he one of the greatest artists ever to live, but he was also a truly gifted architect and creative mind who devised amazing machines centuries ahead of his time. His list of interests and achievements are extraordinary; as well as artist and architect, he was astronomer, researcher, scientist, experimenter, anatomist, and inventor. Leonardo's most acclaimed paintings are the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Paris and The Last Supper in the refectory at Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy. But in many ways his greatest legacy are the hundreds of pen and ink drawings and sketches which are now in museums and collections around the world. These explain, in his remarkable mirror writing, his calculations and hypotheses for the mechanical operation of his various ideas. This book attempts to explain who this great genius was and why he became such a creative man. It looks at where he came from and his education, who his influences were, and how he made his way in the world to become the most remarkable man of his time. His work was founded in strict science and based on a profound analysis of ancient and traditional sources, but it was his curiosity which really drove him. His inquisitive mind led him to investigate every field of knowledge and his life's work is an extraordinary synthesis of art, science, and technology fused in theoretical and practical experience gathered from a long and productive life.

Messa per la prima volta in scena sul palcoscenico del Teatro Sant'Angelo a Venezia nel 1753, La locandiera piacque subito molto, anche se forse non riuscì ad affascinare del tutto il pubblico del tempo. Originale, spiazzante, giocata su una storia d'amore che non si sviluppa secondo gli schemi consueti, ma anzi li rovescia in un gioco di imprevisti, La locandiera era probabilmente troppo "moderna", troppo audace per la sua epoca. Più che una vicenda sentimentale, il commediografo veneziano aveva infatti scritto una storia sull'egoismo e sulla forza di carattere, magnificamente rappresentati nella seducente e sicura Mirandolina, civetta e donna d'affari, indimenticabile e luminoso esempio di un eterno femminino davanti al quale devono crollare tutte le difese degli uomini, anche (e soprattutto) di quelli che fanno sfoggio di un'esasperata misoginia.

Leonardo da Vinci representa el ideal renacentista. En su afán para conocer a fondo al hombre y el universo, abordó distintas disciplinas, obteniendo resultados asombrosos en todas ellas. Sus investigaciones y dibujos en el campo de la anatomía fueron definitivos para el desarrollo de esta ciencia, al igual que sus heterogéneos inventos dan muestra de su genialidad. En este libro se hace un recorrido apasionante por los estudios anatómicos y las máquinas de este portentoso hombre del Renacimiento a partir de sus manuscritos y dibujos.