It was a lovely morning last Thursday for our Spanish Culture & Cuisine trip to the Museu de les Ciències in Valencia, where we were visiting the Exhibition: Leonardo da Vinci, 500 Years of Genius.
We gained an insight into his incredible inventions created 500 years ago through interactive exhibits which revealed how his innovative ideas connect with current technology. Models of his war machines and other inventions had been faithfully reconstructed by Italian craftsmen from his codices. Each model had been crafted using 15th century Italian materials such as wood, iron, brass, cotton, canvas and rope, following the traditional techniques of the time.
In addition, the exhibition offered a unique opportunity to view replicas of Leonardo’s notebooks, including the famous Codex Leicester (1504-1506), in which he recorded his studies on hydraulics, astronomy and geology. Another interesting area in the exhibition revealed his detailed sketches of the human body, both from the outside and inside. Leonardo also created costumes for theatre productions.
The exhibition also offered the opportunity to be ‘in the frame’ for one of his paintings!
We took the opportunity to assess whether we were in the correct proportion, in accordance with Leonardo’s vetruvious man!
Thirteen members of the group also enjoyed the experience of Flying over Renaissance Florence! Living Leonardo da Vinci’s dream of flying like a bird, with the aid of state-of-the-art virtual reality technology!
After time for refreshments at the museum, we then travelled to nearby Beniparrell, where we had an excellent lunch served with good wine, impeccable service, and all in a beautiful well-shaded garden setting, in an area reserved solely for our group.
Thank you to our photographers, Angela Chantry and Tom Miller, and to all of the members who made it such a fun and enjoyable day!
Report by the group leader, Angela Chantry:
spanish.culture.cuisine@u3ajavea.com
