You can get to know him better, by visiting the museum or the library dedicated to his works, or by walking through the countryside outside of town in search of the very same landscape at which Leonardo gazed.

Dating back to the Early Middle Ages, Vinci is centered around the castle that belonged to the Guidi Counts from the year 1000 to 1254, at which time it was subjugated by Florence and transformed into a Commune.

The castle is popularly known as "the castle of the ship", because its elongated shape resembles the silhouette of a sailing vessel, ft houses some frescoed and sculptured coats of arms, remembrances of the Podestas, and the splendid Madonna and Child terracotta by Giovanni della Robbia.

The castle has been the seat of the Leonardo Museum since 1953. Other figures are closely bound to Vinci, such as the sculptor Pierfrancesco da Vinci, known as Pierino da Vinci, Leonardo's nephew.

At Dianella is the house and the tomb of the poet Renato Fucini.

Vinci town panorama

HIGHLIGHTS
Museo Leonardiano
Leonardo Museum. This museum is considered to be one of the largest and most original collections of machines and models of Leonardo the inventor, technologist and engineer. Each model is shown together with precise references to the artist's sketches and annotations.

The machines exhibited exemplify various fields of interest: there are military machines, machines for construction, scientific instruments and machines for moving through air, water and on land. Palazzina Uzielli, a newly added section of the museum, houses the temporary exhibitions and an educational center which offers cultural programs.

BlBLIOTECA Leonardiana
A complete and specialized documentation center for the work of Leonardo da Vinci, that has facsimile reproductions of all of Leonardo's manuscripts and drawings.

Chiesa di S.Croce
Part of the complex of the castle of the Guidi Counts, its origins are Romanesque, although it was remodelled several times. In the interior is the baptismal font where Leonardo da Vinci is said to have been baptized.

click to enlarge the Vinci map village of Leonardo da Vinci town Florence tuscany.

Traditions
The legend of the Flight of Cecco Santi is still alive in Vinci. Cecco di Santi was a brave captain of the Vinci army who, because of his love for a noble woman of an enemy town, betrayed his own. For this reason he was sentenced to a horrible death: to be thrown from the tower of the castle.
It is said that Cecco was promised to be granted a pardon if he could somehow escape death. For his last request, he asked for a glass of the good wine of Vinci and... the miracle happened.
Thrown from the tower, he was able to fly to the hill in front of the castle and in this way he escaped death. That year's grape, wheat and olive harvests were excellent.
For this reason, every year, on the last Wednesday in July, this propitious tradition comes to life again: the various events in Cecco Santi's life are re-enacted and the flight from the tower is accompanied by a fireworks show.

Museo Ideale "Leonardo da Vinci"
Private gallery housed in the castle wine-cellars. It exhibits ancient agricultural tools as well as material coming from various other exhibits on Leonardo.

L'uomo di Vinci
Wooden sculpture by Mario Ceroli (1987) inspired by Leonardo's famous reproduction of the Vitruvian Man.
It is found in the square behind the Leonardo Museum.

Il "Cavallo"
Equestrian bronze monument casted in 1997 by the sculptor Nina Akamu. She took inspiration from the horse drawings made by Leonardo when he was asked to cast the colossal statue dedicated to Francesco Sforza. The Leonardo da Vinci's Horse Foundation of Allentown, Pennsylvania decided to carry out Leonardo's plan and it presented the town of Vinci with the statue.

Santuario della SS.Annunziata
A little church built in 1611 and renovated in 1719. It houses a remarkable painting representing The Annunciation by Fra' Paolino da Pistoia from the 16th Century.

Casa Natale di Leonardo at Anchiano village.
An old tradition, also testified by the historian Ema-nuele Repetti, bears witness to the birth of Leonardo, on April 15, 1452, in this farm house located in the open country.
The house contains a permanent educational exhibition with reproductions of drawings of the Tuscan countryside and a map of the Arno Valley drawn by Leonardo.

Chiesa di S.Giovanni Battista at S.Ansano village
This is an ancient Parish Church first mentioned in 998 in a document written by Emperor Ottone III. Particularly interesting is an al-tarpiece of the school of Giotto with Saint Ansano and Angels from the 14th Century, as well as, in the choir, a painting by Rutilio Ma-netti depicting Pope Alexander I released from prison by an Angel (1625).

Chiesa pi S.Maria Assunta at Faltognano village.
Existing as early as the 13th Century, the church overlooks a vast grassy terrace shaded by a majestic age-old oak-tree and offering a splendid view of Vinci.

Chiesa di San Pietro at S.Amato village.
This small church that shows its Romanesque architecture most visibly in the apse and on the sides, is also worth visiting for its beautiful panoramic view.

See also:
About Leonardo Da Vinci