Leonardo's Automobile

A number of years ago Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi did a film in which they are catapulted back to 1492, where they meet Leonardo Da Vinici, whom they tell about trains, which they describe (roughly) as wagons that run on tracks, pulled by steam. This happens early on in the movie; at the end, when they desperately want to get home, they hear that familiar whistle and see the smoke, but when they come around the bend they see a short length of track with a locomotive on it, and are greeted by Leonardo, who leans from the cab with a triumphant grin and says, "Train!"

A recent reconstruction of Leonardo's automobile, a small carriage actually, makes the scenario seem a lot less improbable. You may have seen the plans -- Folio 812r of the Codice Atlantico is one of the more commonly reproduced pages of Leonardo's notebooks. It's all there, though the problem was interpreting what Leonardo had in mind, because he sketched his ideas rather than jot down notes, and for many ears people thought that the curious bows on the platform over the wheels were the power system. It turns out that they're part of the steering mechanism; Carlo Pedretti, a renowned art historian who knew that Leonardo was familiar with watch making, and also knew that he often shadowed in what was hidden from view in his drawings, realized that the shadows sketched on the gears that drove the wheels represented springs of the kind one winds up to drive a watch. Armed with this intuition, Mark Rosheim, an expert in robotics who also worked with NASA on the Mars vehicles, figured out the details, and a team of Italian engineers built several examples, a large one for display, a small one that runs, and one that's partially assembled, to show how it all goes together.

They're quite beautiful, with various kinds of wood -- some supple, others strong, and others resistant to wear -- for the various elements, and the working model does work admirably; it can be set to run in a straight path, or to turn one way or the other. It's an engineering marvel, and the obvious question is, what would Leonardo have done with it? Probably used it on stage in the course of the theatrical productions he put on for his patrons, to move props "magically" from one place to another.

Leonardo's Auto is currently on display at Florence's Museum of the History of Science in Piazza dei Giudici, where it will remain until June 5 2004, and then travel, though exactly where is not yet certain. In addition to the reconstructions of the car there are well written panels explaining the car's background and context, and there is an excellent website that explains the workings of the car with flash animations, has copies of all the relevant sketches from Leonardo's Codices, and gives a great deal of other information as well. Seeing the car will take about 20 minutes, and will be a nice change of pace.

Practical stuff:
Leonardo's Automobile
In the Museo di Storia della Scienza until June 5 2004
Piazza Dei Giudici (Just upriver from the Uffizi)
Open Mon-Sat 9:30-5, Tuesday 9:30-1
Admission 6.5 Euros, which includes the entire museum