by MK
Four original pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus were unveiled Tuesday, 10 November, at Villa Manin, ahead of the opening of an exhibition exploring the relationship between art, nature and renewal.
The manuscripts, on loan from Milan’s Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, are among the central works in Rinascite. From Leonardo da Vinci to Contemporary Art, which opens to the public on Nov. 14 at Villa Manin in Passariano, near Codroipo.
The pages contain Leonardo’s studies of water, whirlpools, currents and atmospheric phenomena, reflecting his efforts to understand the forces shaping the natural world. His observations portray nature as a constantly changing system in which creation and destruction are interconnected parts of an ongoing process.
The relatively small size of the manuscripts encourages close examination, allowing visitors to study the details of Leonardo’s drawings and his observations of natural phenomena. Together, they illustrate his understanding of the relationships between different forces and processes in nature.
The works also connect with the exhibition’s broader theme of rebirth and transformation, which draws on the experience of Friuli Venezia Giulia following the 1976 earthquake. The disaster led to an extensive process of physical reconstruction and social renewal across the region.
By bringing Leonardo’s studies into dialogue with contemporary art and the history of Friuli, the exhibition examines how destruction can also create the conditions for renewal and new possibilities.
