The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (72 page)

[Footnote: This text has in the original a slight sketch to
illustrate it.]

1033.

At Santa Maria in the Valley of Ravagnate [Footnote 2:
Ravagnate
(Leonardo writes
Ravagna
) in the Brianza is between Oggiono and
Brivio, South of the lake of Como. M. Ravaisson avails himself of
this note to prove his hypothesis that Leonardo paid two visits to
France. See Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1881 pag. 528:

_Au recto du meme feuillet, on lit encore une note relative a une
vallee "nemonti brigatia"; il me semble qu'il s'agit bien des monts
de Briancon, le Brigantio des anciens. Briancon est sur la route de
Lyon en Italie. Ce fut par le mont Viso que passerent, en aout 1515,
les troupes francaises qui allaient remporter la victoire de
Marignan.

Leonard de Vinci, ingenieur de Francois Ier, comme il l'avait ete de
Louis XII, aurait-il ete pour quelque chose dans le plan du celebre
passage des Alpes, qui eut lieu en aout 1515, et a la suite duquel
on le vit accompagner partout le chevaleresque vainqueur? Auraitil
ete appele par le jeune roi, de Rome ou l'artiste etait alors, des
son avenement au trone?_] in the mountains of Brianza are the rods
of chestnuts of 9 braccia and one out of an average of 100 will be
14 braccia.

At Varallo di Ponbia near to Sesto on the Ticino the quinces are
white, large and hard.

[Footnote 5: Varallo di Ponbia, about ten miles South of Arona is
distinct from Varallo the chief town in the Val di Sesia.]

Notes on places in Central Italy, visited in 1502 (1034-1054).

1034.

Pigeon-house at Urbino, the 30th day of July 1502. [Footnote: An
indistinct sketch is introduced with this text, in the original, in
which the word
Scolatoro
(conduit) is written.]

1035.

Made by the sea at Piombino. [Footnote: Below the sketch there are
eleven lines of text referring to the motion of waves.]

1036.

Acquapendente is near Orvieto. [Footnote:
Acquapendente
is about
10 miles West of Orvieto, and is to the right in the map on Pl.
CXIII, near the lake of Bolsena.]

1037.

The rock of Cesena. [Footnote: See Pl. XCIV No. 1, the lower sketch.
The explanation of the upper sketch is given on p. 29.]

1038.

Siena,
a b
4 braccia,
a c
10 braccia. Steps at [the castle of]
Urbino. [Footnote: See Pl. CX No. 3; compare also No. 765.]

1039.

The bell of Siena, that is the manner of its movement, and the place
of the attachment of the clapper. [Footnote: The text is accompanied
by an indistinct sketch.]

1040.

On St. Mary's day in the middle of August, at Cesena, 1502.
[Footnote: See Pl. CX, No. 4.]

1041.

Stairs of the [palace of the] Count of Urbino,—rough. [Footnote:
The text is accompanied by a slight sketch.]

1042.

At the fair of San Lorenzo at Cesena. 1502.

1043.

Windows at Cesena. [Footnote: There are four more lines of text
which refer to a slightly sketched diagram.]

1044.

At Porto Cesenatico, on the 6th of September 1502 at 9 o'clock a. m.

The way in which bastions ought to project beyond the walls of the
towers to defend the outer talus; so that they may not be taken by
artillery.

[Footnote: An indistinct sketch, accompanies this passage.]

1045.

The rock of the harbour of Cesena is four points towards the South
West from Cesena.

1046.

In Romagna, the realm of all stupidity, vehicles with four wheels
are used, of which O the two in front are small and two high ones
are behind; an arrangement which is very unfavourable to the motion,
because on the fore wheels more weight is laid than on those behind,
as I showed in the first of the 5th on "Elements".

1047.

Thus grapes are carried at Cesena. The number of the diggers of the
ditches is [arranged] pyramidically. [Footnote: A sketch,
representing a hook to which two bunches of grapes are hanging,
refers to these first two lines. Cesena is mentioned again Fol. 82a:
Carro da Cesena
(a cart from Cesena).]

1048.

There might be a harmony of the different falls of water as you saw
them at the fountain of Rimini on the 8th day of August, 1502.

1049.

The fortress at Urbino. [Footnote: 1049. In the original the text is
written inside the sketch in the place here marked
n
.]

1050.

Imola, as regards Bologna, is five points from the West, towards the
North West, at a distance of 20 miles.

Castel San Piero is seen from Imola at four points from the West
towards the North West, at a distance of 7 miles.

Faenza stands with regard to Imola between East and South East at a
distance of ten miles. Forli stands with regard to Faenza between
South East and East at a distance of 20 miles from Imola and ten
from Faenza.

Forlimpopoli lies in the same direction at 25 miles from Imola.

Bertinoro, as regards Imola, is five points from the East to wards
the South East, at 27 miles.

1051.

Imola as regards Bologna is five points from the West towards the
North West at a distance of 20 miles.

Castel San Pietro lies exactly North West of Imola, at a distance of
7 miles.

Faenza, as regards Imola lies exactly half way between the East and
South East at a distance of 10 miles; and Forli lies in the same
direction from Imola at a distance of 20 miles; and Forlimpopolo
lies in the same direction from Forli at a distance of 25 miles.

Bertinoro is seen from Imola two points from the East towards the
South East at a distance of 27 miles.

[Footnote: Leonardo inserted this passage on the margin of the
circular plan, in water colour, of Imola—see Pl. CXI No. 1.—In the
original the fields surrounding the town are light green; the moat,
which surrounds the fortifications and the windings of the river
Santerno, are light blue. The parts, which have come out blackish
close to the river are yellow ochre in the original. The dark groups
of houses inside the town are red. At the four points of the compass
drawn in the middle of the town Leonardo has written (from right to
left):
Mezzodi
(South) at the top; to the left
Scirocho
(South
east),
levante
(East),
Greco
(North East),
Septantrione
(North),
Maesstro
(North West),
ponente
(West)
Libecco
(South
West). The arch in which the plan is drawn is, in the original, 42
centimetres across.

At the beginning of October 1502 Cesare Borgia was shut up in Imola
by a sudden revolt of the Condottieri, and it was some weeks before
he could release himself from this state of siege (see Gregorovius,
Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter
, Vol. VII, Book XIII, 5,
5).

Besides this incident Imola plays no important part in the history
of the time. I therefore think myself fully justified in connecting
this map, which is at Windsor, with the siege of 1502 and with
Leonardo's engagements in the service of Cesare Borgia, because a
comparison of these texts, Nos. 1050 and 1051, raise, I believe, the
hypothesis to a certainty.]

1052.

>From Bonconventi to Casa Nova are 10 miles, from Casa Nova to Chiusi
9 miles, from Chiusi to Perugia, from, Perugia to Santa Maria degli
Angeli, and then to Fuligno. [Footnote: Most of the places here
described lie within the district shown in the maps on Pl. CXIII.]

1053.

On the first of August 1502, the library at Pesaro.

1054.

On the tops and sides of hills foreshorten the shape of the ground
and its divisions, but give its proper shape to what is turned
towards you. [Footnote: This passage evidently refers to the making
of maps, such as Pl. CXII, CXIII, and CXIV. There is no mention of
such works, it is true, excepting in this one passage of MS. L. But
this can scarcely be taken as evidence against my view that Leonardo
busied himself very extensively at that time in the construction of
maps; and all the less since the foregoing chapters clearly prove
that at a time so full of events Leonardo would only now and then
commit his observations to paper, in the MS. L.

By the side of this text we find, in the original, a very indistinct
sketch, perhaps a plan of a position. Instead of this drawing I have
here inserted a much clearer sketch of a position from the same MS.,
L. 82b and 83a. They are the only drawings of landscape, it may be
noted, which occur at all in that MS.]

Alessandria in Piedmont (1055. 1056).

1055.

At Candia in Lombardy, near Alessandria della Paglia, in making a
well for Messer Gualtieri [Footnote 2: Messer Gualtieri, the same
probably as is mentioned in Nos. 672 and 1344.] of Candia, the
skeleton of a very large boat was found about 10 braccia
underground; and as the timber was black and fine, it seemed good to
the said Messer Gualtieri to have the mouth of the well lengthened
in such a way as that the ends of the boat should be uncovered.

1056.

At Alessandria della Paglia in Lombardy there are no stones for
making lime of, but such as are mixed up with an infinite variety of
things native to the sea, which is now more than 200 miles away.

The Alps (1057-1062).

1057.

At Monbracco, above Saluzzo,—a mile above the Certosa, at the foot
of Monte Viso, there is a quarry of flakey stone, which is as white
as Carrara marble, without a spot, and as hard as porphyry or even
harder; of which my worthy gossip, Master Benedetto the sculptor,
has promised to give me a small slab, for the colours, the second
day of January 1511.

[Footnote: Saluzzo at the foot of the Alps South of Turin.]

[Footnote 9. 10.:
Maestro Benedetto scultore
; probably some native
of Northern Italy acquainted with the place here described. Hardly
the Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Majano. Amoretti had published
this passage, and M. Ravaisson who gave a French translation of it
in the
Gazette des Beaux Arts
(1881, pag. 528), remarks as
follows:
Le maitre sculpteur que Leonard appelle son "compare" ne
serait-il pas Benedetto da Majano, un de ceux qui jugerent avec lui
de la place a donner au David de Michel-Ange, et de qui le Louvre a
acquis recemment un buste d'apres Philippe Strozzi?
To this it may
be objected that Benedetto da Majano had already lain in his grave
fourteen years, in the year 1511, when he is supposed to have given
the promise to Leonardo. The colours may have been given to the
sculptor Benedetto and the stone may have been in payment for them.
>From the description of the stone here given we may conclude that it
is repeated from hearsay of the sculptor's account of it. I do not
understand how, from this observation, it is possible to conclude
that Leonardo was on the spot.]

1058.

That there are springs which suddenly break forth in earthquakes or
other convulsions and suddenly fail; and this happened in a mountain
in Savoy where certain forests sank in and left a very deep gap, and
about four miles from here the earth opened itself like a gulf in
the mountain, and threw out a sudden and immense flood of water
which scoured the whole of a little valley of the tilled soil,
vineyards and houses, and did the greatest mischief, wherever it
overflowed.

1059.

The river Arve, a quarter of a mile from Geneva in Savoy, where the
fair is held on midsummerday in the village of Saint Gervais.

[Footnote: An indistinct sketch is to be seen by the text.]

1060.

And this may be seen, as I saw it, by any one going up Monbroso
[Footnote: I have vainly enquired of every available authority for a
solution of the mystery as to what mountain is intended by the name
Monboso (Comp. Vol. I Nos. 300 and 301). It seems most obvious to
refer it to Monte Rosa. ROSA derived from the Keltic ROS which
survives in Breton and in Gaelic, meaning, in its first sense, a
mountain spur, but which also—like HORN—means a very high peak;
thus Monte Rosa would mean literally the High Peak.], a peak of the
Alps which divide France from Italy. The base of this mountain gives
birth to the 4 rivers which flow in four different directions
through the whole of Europe. And no mountain has its base at so
great a height as this, which lifts itself above almost all the
clouds; and snow seldom falls there, but only hail in the summer,
when the clouds are highest. And this hail lies [unmelted] there, so
that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling
clouds, which does not happen more than twice in an age, an enormous
mass of ice would be piled up there by the layers of hail, and in
the middle of July I found it very considerable; and I saw the sky
above me quite dark, and the sun as it fell on the mountain was far
brighter here than in the plains below, because a smaller extent of
atmosphere lay between the summit of the mountain and the sun.
[Footnote 6:
in una eta.
This is perhaps a slip of the pen on
Leonardo's part and should be read
estate
(summer).]

Leic. 9b]

1061.

In the mountains of Verona the red marble is found all mixed with
cockle shells turned into stone; some of them have been filled at
the mouth with the cement which is the substance of the stone; and
in some parts they have remained separate from the mass of the rock
which enclosed them, because the outer covering of the shell had
interposed and had not allowed them to unite with it; while in other
places this cement had petrified those which were old and almost
stripped the outer skin.

1062.

Bridge of Goertz-Wilbach (?).

[Footnote: There is a slight sketch with this text, Leonardo seems
to have intended to suggest, with a few pen-strokes, the course of
the Isonzo and of the Wipbach in the vicinity of Gorizia (Goerz). He
himself says in another place that he had been in Friuli (see No.
1077 1. 19).]