Postcard From Rome: Mostra di Leonardo
Way at the back of the courtyard of Palazzo della Cancelleria is a museum dedicated to the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci. Visitors get to see (reproduced) pages from Leonardo’s notebooks along with full-scale models of the inventions themselves. Many of the models are interactive, meaning kids of all ages can try out the various contraptions. This is the only museum of its kind in Rome.
The building itself had an interesting start — it was financed with Cardinal Raffaele Riario’s gambling proceeds in the 15th century. Giorgio Vasari was among the artists enlisted to fresco the rooms (he allegedly bragged about finishing one in 100 days, and his best friend Michelangelo is reported to have said “it looks like it”). Today in the Mostra di Leonardo, sections of floor are replaced with glass, revealing Roman ruins underneath the palazzo.
Piazza della Cancelleria on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (between Campo de’ Fiori and Piazza Navona) Tel 06-69-88-76-16 www.mostradileonardo.com/en
Entrance to the Cancelleria, museum at rear
