Milan, Italy

Da Vinci moved to Milan from Florence in 1482, where he worked for the ruling Sforza family as an architect, painter, engineer, and sculptor. It was during these years  in Milan that Leonardo wrote some of his most famous manuscripts, including his Codex Atlanticus. It was during his time in Milan between 1482 and 1499 that da Vinci created some of his famous masterpieces, including The Last Supper. It was also during this time that Leonardo recorded some of his greatest inventions, and recorded much of his writings about acoustics. Leonardo left Milan when it was invaded by the Frenh in 1499, but later returned from 1506- 1513. 

Today, Milan is known as the leading financial center and a prosperous manufacturing and commercial city in Italy. Though Rome is the official and political capital of Italy, Milan is known as the "moral capital" because of the city's history and qualities, including Milan's success in numerous fields, and it's economical, cultural, and idealogical contribution to Italy. Milan is the richest city in Italy, and geographically connects Italy to the rest of Europe. 

Vida, Stefania. “Tracing Leonardo Da Vinci's Milestones.” Where Milan, 5 July 2018, www.wheremilan.com/guide/leonardo-da-vinci-milano/.

Foot, John, and Alberto Lecco. “Milan.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Jan. 2020, www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy/Landscape.

Parent Map

da Vinci and the Renaissance 2020 Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 45.464203500000
Longitude: 9.189982000000

Timeline of Events Associated with Milan, Italy

Date Event Manage

Da Vinci and Sound Waves
1490

Da Vinci and Sound Waves

As a scientist, da Vinci was interested in how sound moves through different materials. He is often credited with discovering that sound travels in waves, allowing Galileo to later on discover more properties of sound waves. Da Vinci was especially interested in underwater acoustics, and discovered this science in 1490 when he inserted a tube into water and was able to detect vessels by ear. 

Not only was da Vinci interested in the logistics of sound and how it travels, he was also a musician. Da Vinci played several instruments, including the lira da braccio which is a type of lyre often used by Italian poet-musicians to accompany their poetry recitations. It was his interest in acoustics that allowed Leonardo to invent new instruments, and improve upon existing ones.

In Leonardo’s Madrid Manuscript II, he depicts a bell being struck with two hammers at its base, and a lever with mechanically-operated heads meant to alter the pitch of the bell. Da Vinci knew that the bell can produce different sounds in different regions, and by dampening other regions with the lever heads, the bell can produce multiple different pitches. The bell appears a total of 40 times in Leonardo’s writings.

Many of da Vinci’s creative breakthroughs came from connecting the unconnected. Da Vinci connected the decay of sound through space to his findings of diminishing perspective optics, on which he based much of his artwork. Da Vinci wrote about volume and the fading of sounds, and observed that you cannot categorize sounds as “small” or “large”, because the distance from which you hear a sound impacts it’s dynamics. Leonardo’s interest in the fading of sounds bleeds into his interest in firearms, namely the acoustical aspects of firing cannons, rifles, and the like.

Eisenberg, Michael. “Sonic Mapping in Leonardo's Disegni.” Leonardo Da Vinci Between Art and Science | Themes And Essays - Music - Eisenberg, Columbia University, 28 Mar. 2014, faculty.virginia.edu/Fiorani/NEH-Institute/essays/themes-and-essays/music/eisenberg.

Fisk, Peter. “What Is Innovation? Connecting the Dots, the Ones Other People Miss.” GeniusWorks, 27 Feb. 2016, www.thegeniusworks.com/2016/02/what-is-innovation-connecting-the-dots-th....

Meurling, Thomas. “Sonar History & Training.” Strategic Sonar Solutions – Helping People with Sonar Solutions for Commercial and Military Applications, Thomas Meurling, thomasmeurling.com/sonar-traning/.

Winternitz, Emanuel. Leonardo Da Vinci as a Musician. Yale University Press, 1982.

Photo obtained from: Eisenberg, Michael. “Sonic Mapping in Leonardo's Disegni.” Leonardo Da Vinci Between Art and Science | Themes And Essays - Music - Eisenberg, Columbia University, 28 Mar. 2014, faculty.virginia.edu/Fiorani/NEH-Institute/essays/themes-and-essays/music/eisenberg.