Vinci, Leonardo and Italian excellence

Let’s go to Vinci for a trip, it’s winter, it’s cold, but when the sun shines the need to go somewhere green becomes a must: Vinci is the winner city  of this daytrip, a small town located on the Montalbano hills – and we’re obviously talking about the birthplace of Leonardo ‘da Vinci’. Vinci landscapes and Leonardo will be the protagonists of the following pics:

Vinci, Tuscany
Vinci, Tuscany
Leonardo Souvenir
Leonardo Souvenir
Vinci, Tuscany
Vinci, Tuscany
The Vitruvian man - Vinci view
The Vitruvian man – Vinci view

imagehere you can visit a sort of dislocated museum, in the sense that there are several units which are part of the ‘Museum of Leonardo’ in the city of Vinci.

The first visit to do is the Castle of the Guidi Counts in the city center: here you can have a taste of the exhibitions:

rotable crane - first model used to build the Florence' s Dom
rotable crane – first model used to build the Florence’ s Dome
crane in action
crane in action
Four spindle spinning machine
Four spindle spinning machine
Gold-beating machine, Vinci Museum
Gold-beating machine, Vinci Museum

here you are the wooden series: instrumental tools and shapes, a tank model, Leonardo’s wheels studies applied to a bicycle

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Wooden Tank model by Leonardo Da Vinci
Wooden Tank model by Leonardo Da Vinci
Mechanical wing model by Leonardo da Vinci
Mechanical wing model by Leonardo da Vinci
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Wooden structure representing the tool and crane used to build the top of the Dome of Florence
Shades and lights reflecting the Vitruvian Man

Then the series of work of arts dedicated to the painting and the study of perspective:

Reflection and perspective with Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Reflection and perspective with Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
The study of wheels - wooden machines by Leonardo
The study of wheels – wooden machines by Leonardo

Here is the Leonardo’s painting in which he was able to introduce the power of linear perspective to go towards naturalism in painting. You can see the deepth of the landscape and natural pose of the characters by looking at it moving to the right, from Mary’s point of view: if you do so, you can enjoy the very point of view and right perspective:

Leonardo's Annunciation
Leonardo’s Annunciation

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Trip to Anchiano, birthplace of Leonardo
Trip to Anchiano, birthplace of Leonardo

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Books and videos about Leonardo history by Archivio Luce
Books and videos about Leonardo history by Archivio Luce

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#NoteOfTheDay by Rag’n’Bone Human

 

San Gimignano in Tuscany: 6 friends, 1 weekend, 5 Kilos gained enjoying it!

When deciding to go for a weekend in a countryside of Tuscany means meet with several friends who have never been there before, don’t think about how many hours you’ll spend by going up and down the hills, but just think how lucky you are…

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, three days of fabulous landscapes, wine-and-food tasting, homemade products flavours, people who talks locally and you can’t understand, parkings, souvenirs and Google maps as your best friend: this is a free ride in Tuscany! Enjoy it 😊

Starting from Brunello di Montalcino at Perucà - in San Gimignano
Starting from Brunello di Montalcino at Perucà – in San Gimignano

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San Gimignano, Siena - Tuscany
San Gimignano main square, Siena – Tuscany

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Here you are some of the popular towers of San Gimignano
Here you are some of the popular towers of San Gimignano
Dome, Churches and towers of San Gimignano, near Siena
Dome, Churches and towers of San Gimignano, near Siena
Task of San Gimignano
Tank of San Gimignano – ‘Cisterna’ in Italian

The Tank of San Gimignano has also been the inspiration of Escher in one of its architectural study!

another Tank's view
another Tank’s view
Towers and other ancient details of the city
Towers and other ancient details of the city
Letters, prints and mails: ancient ways of communication
Letters, prints and mails: ancient ways of communication
San Gimignano, view from the top
San Gimignano, view from the top

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And here you are some arts and crafts and typical products of San Gimignano:

Handmade and typical products
Handmade and typical products
Handmade bijoux
Handmade bijoux

Tuscan arts and crafts

An ancient kind of door bell!
An ancient kind of door bell!
Dragon door bell
Dragon door bell
Typical ham, salami in 'tagliere'
Typical ham, salami in ‘tagliere’

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‘Vernaccia’ is the typical wine from San Gimignano, so you can’t avoid to have a glass of wine while tasting genuine salami – like the typical ‘finocchiona’ – olive oil and the special guest ‘yellow- saffron‘ which is the very typical feature of this city (which differs from other little small cities of Tuscany):

Wonderful typical Italian ham
Wonderful typical Italian ham

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Italian Olive oil
Italian Olive oil
Super organic 'yellow-saffron'
Super organic ‘yellow-saffron’

At the end, the almost 5 pounds gained will be very appreciated if thinking back to all the delicious things you’ve tasted and discovered!

#NoteOfTheDay Kibom Bombom by As Meninas