Leonardiana Library

The founding of the Leonardiana Library is closely linked to Gustavo Uzielli, one of the foremost Leonardo da Vinci scholars of the late nineteenth century. His efforts, along with those of the Vinci administration in the last decade of the 1800s, to establish a Leonardo-focused library in Leonardo’s hometown were realized several years later, in 1928, also following the 1911 acquisition by the Municipality of Vinci of Gustavo Uzielli’s private Leonardo collection.

Soon becoming one of the main centers for Leonardian studies in Italy, the library has gradually built an extensive collection of published works by and about Leonardo da Vinci, especially from the early twentieth century onward.

Starting in 1990 and continuously to the present day, the library has expanded and updated its holdings. It currently owns over 13,000 works by and about Leonardo da Vinci. These include facsimile reproductions of manuscripts and drawings, editions of all printed works beginning with the first 1651 edition of the Treatise on Painting, monographs and various scholarly contributions across different disciplines related to Leonardo’s activities. The collections are enriched by a reference section dedicated to the sources of Leonardo’s work and studies on the 15th and 16th centuries; a series of specialized periodicals—some specifically focused on Leonardian studies, others on broader topics ranging from art history to science and technology; and several book, documentary, and epistolary collections.

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