The innovative exhibition “Leonardo3 – Il Mondo di Leonardo” has extended its scope with new exhibition spaces and a new reconstruction: the Musical Can(n)on by Leonardo da Vinci.
The exhibition Leonardo3 – Il Mondo di Leonardo” will be further enriched by an exclusive work of art: the “Musical Can(n)on”. The reconstruction of an innovative instrument, a sort of gigantic musical box, presented in an exclusive world preview. The “Musical Can(n)on” project is described by Leonardo on page 136r of the Codex Arundel, presently preserved at the British Library in London. An extremely complicated machine whose underlying concept, though sketchily described, is nonetheless clear: a wheel in which four teeth simultaneously strike thin metal sheets which emit a sound inside a reed amplifier. The wheel is activated by simply turning a handle. The movement of the wheel and the subsequent striking of the four teeth on the metal sheets produce polyphonic music, in which each tone continues to copy the sound of the other tones. Numerous projects are dedicated to musical instruments in Leonardo and are scattered throughout the pages of his notebooks. Though most of his machines appear to be relatively simple, such as, for example, his mechanical drums, a more in-depth analysis reveals instruments that are actually much more innovative and complex.
By Stefania Vida
The exhibition “Leonardo3 – Il Mondo di Leonardo” has been extended to 31 December 2017 and is open every day from 10am to 11pm, 12 €.
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Piazza della Scala, entrance from Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
M1-M3 Duomo
Infoline T: (+39) 02 49519981
www.leonardo3.net
www.museoscienza.org
www.ambrosiana.eu
Coming Soon
Over the next few months, other exclusive reconstructions of Leonardo’s machines will be unveiled, thus further enriching the exhibition currently on display. The 2014 program is listed below:
APRIL: Quick Leaf-Spring Catapult, the first and only “quick fire” leaf-spring catapult in history
MAY: new musical instruments (Continous Wind Pipe, Paper Organs, “Glissati” Flutes and an Elastic Drum).
JUNE: Leonardo Virtual Reality – The Last Supper.
JULY: Mechanical Eagle.
