Florence, Italy

Leonardo spent his early years as an Apprentice to Verrocchio in Florence. During these years, he often worked creating pageants which is believed to be the inspiration for his helicopter design. True to his interdisciplinary nature, Leonardo also spent his years as an apprentice learning about a wide variety of other topics including painting, botany, and engineering.

Torino, Italy

Leonardo’s Codex on the Flight of Birds was collected in its entirety in the 19th century after being traded around Europe. The Codex was given to the Royal Library of Torino at the end of the 19th century to King Umberto I by the Russian scholar, Theodore Sabachnikoff. The Royal Library was founded in 1831 by King Carlo Alberto of Savoia-Carignano. In addition to his personal collections, Alberto relied on scholars to collect and gather important historical documents related to Italy and the House of Savoy.

Pavia, Italy

Another place where Leonardo da Vinci got his influence was Pavia. Him and di Giogio traveled there to oversee the construction process of a new cathedral after the people heard about their work being done in Milan. The facade was created in a way that matched da Vinci's design tastes: symmetrical layout and appearance that looked simple and balanced. However, this was where both da Vinci and di Giorgio found a copy of Vetruvius's works that inspired his humanistic ideas to be implemented in church design.