Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex on the Flight of Birds

The “Codex on the Flight of Birds” by Leonardo da Vinci is presented for the first time in Russia.  The Codex was exceptionally loaned by the Royal Library of Turin, from which it was moved only three times. Leonardo compiled this notebook (dating back to 1505) while analysing the flight pattern of birds in 167 drawings. Hestarted from the last page and wrote in a shorthand that reads from right to left. It features notes, calculationsand observations aimed at giving shape to man's oldest dream: flying. The Codex contains schematics for a flying machine, as well as a host of notes and drawings on flight, on the physiognomy of birds, on air resistance and currents.