The Leicester Code is a famous manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci, composed of 36 folded sheets, for a total of 72 pages, a scientific treatise on water and astronomy that summarizes the studies of the great genius regarding these subjects. Precisely because it is a text with which Leonardo wanted to “bring order” to his research and discoveries, it is considered to be great importance. Compound between 1506 and 1510passed from hand to hand, disappearing for years, until 1994, when it was purchased by Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and is the only Leonardo codex owned by a private individual, as well as being the ancient manuscript auctioned for the highest amount ever, almost 31 million dollars.
The central theme of the Leicester code and why it is called that
The Codex Leicester is composed of 18 sheets, therefore 36 folded and 72 pages in total, measuring 29 x 22 cm: it appears like a leather-bound file, but it was probably not bound by Leonardo. It is called that because it is, in fact, a code – term indicating a manuscript composed of a single block of sheets then bound together, from Latin codexitself a derivative of caudexor tree trunk – and was purchased at the beginning of 1700 by the Earl of Leicester, whose name it has “absorbed” to this day.
It is a work full of notes and drawings which denote both the evolution of Leonardo’s thought and studies, and of the Renaissance period so rich and flourishing with new discoveries in which the great genius was involved and by which he was in turn influenced. The central theme is water, with studies dedicated to its strength, the motion of rivers and hydraulic science in general.
The synthesis of Leonardo’s thought
At the time he composed the code, Leonardo da Vinci was studying anatomy at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, working on the machines that he believed could allow man to fly, and also carefully studying the possibility of making the Arno navigable from Florence to the sea.
The Leicester Codex is therefore a precious “photograph” of the state of the art of Leonardo’s studies, with which he himself wanted put order between his own insights and the numerous considerations and discoveries that occurred throughout his life.
It is Leonardo himself who expressed this intent, well aware of the need to bring together the observations in order to also be able to present them clearly: it is precisely this that makes the code so fundamental:
«Here you need to continue in order, that is, distinguishing into propositions, member by member of each part; and so you will be without confusion of course”
The mysterious history of the code, which passes from hand to hand
When Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519 at the Manor of Clos Lucé in Amboise, France, his works – manuscripts, drawings and paintings – were inherited by Francesco Melzihis pupil and protégé, at the behest of Leonardo himself, who had designated him his heir the previous year, writing that Melzi had to come into possession of “Each and every book that the said Testator currently possesses and other instruments and portraits relating to his art and industry as a painter“.
The current Leicester Code, however, seems not to have been among the documents inherited by Francesco Melzi: the only certain information we have on the matter gives the manuscript as property of the sculptor Guglielmo della Portaa friend of Michelangelo, who moved to Rome in 1537, and the Leicester Codex was with him.
The next certain documentation dates back more than a hundred years later: in 1690 it was purchased by Giuseppe Ghezzipainter and copyist, who also added a note on the title page indicating its authenticity:
«Original Book / Of Nature, weight, and motion of Waters, / Composed, written, and depicted by himself / Left-handed character / By the illustrious painter and surveyor / Leonardo da Vinci (…)».
The code today: where it is found, who the owner is and how it can be consulted
In 1717, it was purchased by Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester: it remained the property of the family for two hundred years, until 1980, when it was auctioned and purchased by Armand HammerAmerican entrepreneur, for 5.6 million dollars. When Hammer died, he left the Leicester codex to the University of California, which put it up for sale again: Bill Gates bought it at auction in 1994 for almost 31 million dollarsto be precise 30,802,500, the highest figure ever recorded.
To date, Bill Gates keeps the code in an air-conditioned vault: in 2019 it was exhibited at the Uffizi in Florence on the occasion of the exhibition “Water, nature’s microscope”, curated by Professor Paolo Galluzzi, and then returning “home” to California.
However, it is possible consult it in digital formatbrowsing page by page on the Galileo Galilei Museum website.
