Venice Museo Leonardo da Vinci

Damn clever, that man. When did he sleep? In Venice we stumbled on a museo dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci. For a few euros we were encouraged to interact with the machines on display and to remember, 'no flash when taking pictures of his artworks.' A bit of background on the man. He was born in 1452 and died in 1519. Keep those dates in mind for when you see the models of his inventions you will recognise the man's true genius. Given that Leonardo had no access to computers or the technology that we all embrace today; when you stand before each replica or model of his creations you are left to marvel at his innovations. For example, his weaponry machines for mechanically firing many arrows simultaneously or his underwater breathing apparatus. Was he a little ahead of his time? Yet another structure was his storming ladder designed to raise large numbers of raiders over fortifications. There was a timber pod that resembled the first lunar space modules and yet another for digging and raising loads of earth with extraordinary mechanical advantage. An enormous timber model of a ballbearing sat on display willing the onlooker to ask how did he do it? A helicopter style contraption in such fine proportions was strung from the ceiling. Test pilots eat your hearts out. His artworks were also most impressive but on that day my attention was focused solely on the vast array of models and da Vinci's brilliance. Was he always sketching, drawing, measuring, aligning timber or fabrics to produce incredible devices? What would a man like da Vinci conceive and develop were he alive today? Did his contemporaries consider him a genius, a phenomenon in his day?