The Da Vinci collection
The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia in Milan holds the world's largest permanent exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's work as an engineer and inventor. The Leonardo da Vinci Galleries span 1,300 square meters and contain over 170 models, artworks, and volumes that interpret his designs. This collection originated in 1952 to celebrate the fifth centenary of Leonardo's birth. A national committee commissioned the models, which were first displayed at the museum's inauguration on February 15, 1953. These are not existing machines but three-dimensional interpretations of his technical drawings, designed to make his concepts understandable to a modern audience.
The models demonstrate the immense scope of Leonardo's studies, from war machines and civil engineering projects to flight and textile manufacturing. Visitors can see physical realizations of his revolving crane, pile driver, and spur ship. The exhibit also displays designs for a mechanical loom, a parachute, and an ornithopter, a flying machine with flapping wings. These working models show that Leonardo’s concepts were often centuries ahead of the materials and power sources needed to build them at full scale. The gallery places his work in the context of the Renaissance, connecting his engineering studies to his broader work as a humanist and artist.
From monastery to museum
The museum itself occupies a historic 16th-century building in central Milan: the former Olivetan monastery of San Vittore al Corpo. This structure was a military hospital and later as barracks during the Napoleonic occupation. It sustained heavy damage from bombing in 1943 during World War II. Architect Piero Portaluppi led the post-war reconstruction, and the museum opened in 1953. Today, the facility covers 50,000 square meters, making it the largest science and technology museum in Italy.
The museum's 21,000 objects cover a wide range of scientific fields. The transport sections are a major feature, with exhibits on air, rail, and naval technology. One of the most prominent objects is the Enrico Toti (S-506) submarine, the first submarine built in Italy after World War II. Launched in 1967, it patrolled the Mediterranean during the Cold War. After its decommissioning, it was transported overland to its current location in the museum's courtyard. Other notable exhibits include the brig-schooner Ebe, the transatlantic liner Conte Biancamano, and the Vega space launcher. The space section also displays the only fragment of lunar rock visible in Italy, collected during the Apollo 17 mission.