January 15, 2005
DA VINCI CAVE:
A Da Vinci Complex? Call It a Hypothesis (JASON HOROWITZ, 1/15/05, NY Times)
Researchers at a military geography institute here say they have discovered - hiding practically in plain sight in their building - what might have been a workshop for Leonardo da Vinci.They have also homed in on fading frescoes that they think might have been painted by Leonardo or by a workshop student 500 years ago, although that hypothesis has not been put to the test by art historians or by scientific analysis.
Italian museum officials are hoping that the discovery of the frescoes and five small rooms where Leonardo might have lived and worked, in a building just off the Piazza of the Santissima Annunziata in central Florence, will help flesh out the life of the artist, inventor and scientist, who embodied the ideal of the Renaissance man.
C'mon, you know they're thinking one thing: Tourist Attraction! Posted by Orrin Judd at January 15, 2005 12:00 AM
Not that Florence is hurting for tourist attractions. Beautiful city, great museums. Don't miss the Museum of the History of Science with its fabulous collection of early scientific instruments made by the finest craftsmen of the time.
Posted by: PapayaSF at January 15, 2005 1:36 AMAgree with Papaya...seeing some of the telescopes Gallileo built and used was very cool.
Posted by: Foos at January 15, 2005 3:29 PMI am terribly upset that you wish to sum up the Italians desire to uncover the secret whether these frescoes are actually by Da Vinci or not as purely motivated by tourism. It's just plain wrong. This would be a great contribution to the understanding of Da Vinci's life and works. If the end result is more tourist attention, then fine. Is that so wrong? But, to state "C'mon, you know they're thinking one thing: Tourist Attraction!" is a closed minded view of what it means to discover and unlock history.
Posted by: NM at January 16, 2005 10:30 AM