Vinci

...of a certain Leonardo Da Vinci who, when not painting sardonic smiles on the Mona Lisa, was most probably inventing wooden heliochoppers and such.

It's not freaky happenchance that this village shares its name with the great man though, for this was his birthplace way back in 1452.

Actually, at first sight not a lot has changed since L da V first drew breath here...if you discount the tour buses parked below the castle ...
...explores the figure of Da Vinci and the symbols and images associated with him. According to the leaflet, "This affords a suitable perspective for a meditation on today's world and on the human condition."
Hmmm, I must've stooped to tie my lace - that went right over my head.
I may not know much about art, but I know what I like. This wasn't it. To me, Signor Vacchi had one idea, then battered off 20-30 variations of the ... more

When we visited Tuscany in June, the first place we headed for was a tiny hill-top village called VINCI. Perhaps the name may be familiar to some of you - no, it's not where a recent best selling novel was cyphered. I was thinking more along the lines of a certain Leonardo Da Vinci who, when not painting sardonic smiles on the Mona Lisa, was most probably inventing wooden heliochoppers and such.

It's not freaky happenchance that this village shares its name with the great man though, for this was his birthplace way back in 1452.

Actually, at first sight not a lot has changed since L da V first drew breath here...if you discount the tour buses parked below the castle and palace of the Guidi Counts. And the TV antennae. And...och, you know what I mean.

The village really consists of two parts: the lower, more modern area where most villagers live; and the upper, castellated area where the attractions are. It's impossible to drive to the upper part, so it's a question of dumping the car wherever you can find a space (most parking is free - at least I never paid for it, anyway), then a short, but steep tramp up to the Via del Torre and a rather excellent little tourist office. The staff were really helpful and had a wealth of literature on hand about the village, the Leonardo dude, and the general area.
Rather conveniently, there's a bar/cafe next door where you can peruse the aforementioned literature whilst partaking of a refreshment.

There are a handful of bar/cafes in the village, as well as a few restaurants, most of which are circled around the old tower of the castle which now houses a museum dedicated to...guess who? This is also where you'll find a small selection of shops selling all manner of souvenirs and not surprisingly, specialising in all things Da Vinci-ish. There are one or two more upmarket shops as well - not that the others are tacky.

It doesn't take long to explore the upper village as there are only around three streets and a couple of piazzas, and there's not an awful lot to admire. The views over the surrounding country-side, however, are stunning. Don't get me wrong, the village is pretty enough, and the church, tower and palace are quite impressive and lovingly restored, but the views are a knock-out!

There are various sculptures dotted around the place, most notable being 'The Man from Vinci', a sizable wooden sculpture by Mario Ceroli, inspired by L da V's Vitruvian Man. But the main attraction here is the museum.

The MUSEO LEONARDINO, which is open everyday (9.30am - 6.30pm), is housed in both the Tower and the Palace but they're practically next door to each other. I won't even attempt to list the contents here, suffice to say it's one of the largest collections of machines and models on the theme anywhere in the world.
Each reproduction - things like a self-propelled wagon, floats for walking on water, a tank and endless other ingenious devices, are accompanied by copies of the original sketches and manuscripts. There's plenty of information in English too, which was handy.

I must admit, there's so much to look at here that after a while it can send you 'scaly-eyed'. There are only so many fantastical, whimsical and, in some case, downright weird things you can look at without suffering from a mind boggle. Having said that, he was certainly a clever guy (and I'm a master of understatement).

Some of the museum space was taken over by an exhibition by Sergio Vacchi which explores the figure of Da Vinci and the symbols and images associated with him. According to the leaflet, "This affords a suitable perspective for a meditation on today's world and on the human condition."
Hmmm, I must've stooped to tie my lace - that went right over my head.
I may not know much about art, but I know what I like. This wasn't it. To me, Signor Vacchi had one idea, then battered off 20-30 variations of the theme. But what do I know? The last thing I painted was a garden fence...and I made a pig's ear of that.
At least we didn't have to pay a separate entrance fee for it - 10 euros pp covered the lot.

What else is there to do and see in Vinci?

Well, not an awful lot. There's the BIBLIOTECA LEONARDIANA where they claim to have just about everything ever published concerning L Da V, including facsimiles of all his manuscripts and 'scribblings'.

There's also the MUSEO IDEALE LEONARDO da VINCI, a private gallery housed in the cellars of the castle. Less of a dedicated museum to Da Vinci and more of an interpretation of how his inventions affect present-day life, this sounded interesting, but we really didn't have the time to explore it fully. Perhaps next time.

Next door to the tower is the CHIESA PARROCHIALE di SANTA CROCE, the tiny church where Leonardo was baptised. There's not a lot to see here, but it's strange to imagine him bawling his lungs out at the font all those centuries ago.

Around 3km along a serpent-like, though scenic road, is the farmhouse where da Vinci lived. It's possible to visit and get a feel for what inspired the man in his early life. The country-side around has not really changed much since those days and this is reflected in landscape drawings that he produced in his youth which are dispayed here. Entrance is free but there's not really a lot to justify charging anyone for anyway! Also, the drive along the torturous route to get here is a little hair-raising.

IN CONCLUSION, I though Vinci was a charming little village in its own right, but the association with Da Vinci is what brings the tourists in. Having said that, it wasn't crowded at all, although I imagine it could get that way.
Although there are a couple of hotels in the area, it's not somewhere I'd choose to spend the night. It's more of a day-trip type of place, and being less than an hour from Florence or Pisa, it's easy enough to get to.

I would say that if you had little or no interest in Leonardo da Vinci, then there's little to attract you here. However, if like us, you are staying close by (we had a room in nearby Empoli at the...wait for it, Hotel Da Vinci), it's well worth the visit. If only to marvel at the genius and vision of Signor da Vinci and his phantasmagorical, superinnovational, wildly impractical world of gadgets.

©proxam2005 

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