Romania’s Cantacuzino Castle hosts “Leonardo da Vinci - The Machines” exhibition

Cantacuzino Castle in the mountain town of Busteni, in Romania’s Prahova Valley, hosts a special exhibition dedicated to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. The event marks two important moments: 570 years since da Vinci’s birth and 111 years since Cantacuzino Castle’s establishment.

The “Leonardo da Vinci - The Machines” exhibition features 45 machines designed over 500 years ago by the famous Italian genius and built for the first time in 1970 by a family of Italian artists (in collaboration with famous historian Carlo Pedretti) for the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence. Built from wood, the exhibits are faithful reproductions of the sketches and projects discovered in da Vinci’s codex.

Visitors will be able to interact with 15 of the machines, including Archimedes’ screw or the cam hammer. Other amazing inventions included in the exhibition are the hang glider, the parachute, Brunelleschi’s revolving crane, the hydraulic saw and the reflector.

The exhibition is grouped into four categories: flying machines, hydraulic machines, machines and concepts for civil construction, and military inventions.

According to the organizers, “Leonardo da Vinci - the Machines” started its world tour in 2003 and has so far reached over 80 cities in Europe, Asia, North and South America and Australia, setting a record for an exhibition of this sort (over 20 million visitors) and becoming one of the world’s major cultural events. “Therefore, Cantacuzino Castle is very proud to add Busteni, Romania, to the list of international locations for this famous exhibition,” reads the press release.

The exhibition is open at the castle’s Art Gallery until October 30, 2022. Further details here.

(Photo source: Alexandru Ionaș Sălăgean/Dreamstime.com)