Leonardo in Valdichiana: the design of the territory and the science of water

Exhibition Leonardo Da Vinci in Valdichiana

the design of the territory and the science of water

Leonardo da Vinci was also employed as a cartographer, numerous, in fact, are the maps he designed in his long life.

Map of Valdichiana draw by Leonardo da Vinci

The Map of Valdichiana is one of Leonardo's most refined cartographic products. It was designed between 1502 and 1503 when the artist was in the service of Cesare Borgia as an architect and military engineer. It is a paper that stands out for the richness of its topographic and hydrographic contents but also for the particular bird's-eye representation that makes it a sort of aerial photography before its time.
To give the impression of three-dimensionality is the perspective representation of castles and mountain reliefs, as well as the evident crushing of the Volterra area, artfully compressed to extend the cartographic representation to the sea. The numerous toponyms allow the identification of 254 geographical places, including cities, castles, and rivers distributed in an area extended between Florence, the Aretino, the Trasimeno, the Sienese Chianti, the Volterrano, the Val d’Orcia and the Val di Cecina. The main object of the representation, however, is the great swamp that from the Middle Ages plagued the Val di Chiana with unhealthy air.
Leonardo highlighted the marshy area with a light blue so as to make the numerous streams that flowed towards the Chiana master canal, the ancient river Clanis which gives its name to the region, clearly visible with a darker blue. for about three centuries it flooded the surrounding plain. The hydrographic function of the map is well highlighted in a study sheet in which Leonardo detects a dry canal, noting that it was closed by the lord of Perugia Andrea Fortebracci: “Braccio da Montone closed it".
It is likely that Leonardo's map would serve as a preliminary study for a remediation intervention in the Chiane area.

A second hypothesis is that the hydrographic study of that territory was destined to transform the unhealthy marsh into a large water reservoir to guarantee the constant navigability of the Florence Canal, the project that Leonardo developed in the same period for the Florentine Republic. In this second hypothesis, the Valdichiana map is linked to the other maps of the Tuscan territory in which Leonardo elaborates the project of the navigable canal from Florence to the sea.

Montepulciano, Fortezza
From 25 May 2019 - 08 September 2019
Info: Tel. +39 0577/286300
Hours: Every day from 1030h to 1830h
Ticket: Euro 5,00

Montepulciano and the Eternal City - Città Eterna Exhibition

Aesthetics Landscapes and views from the of the
Grand Tour to the mid-20th century

Museo Civico Pinacoteca Crociani Montepulciano (Siena),
until 7 October 2018

The exhibition aims to compare two cities in the imaginary they had to the travelers of the Grand Tour. The cities are Montepulciano, where the exhibition is proposed and Rome, a favorite destination for European travelers.
The celebrated Roman countryside, as well as Montepulciano and its rural surroundings, is displayed in over a hundred oils, drawings, watercolors, vintage engravings collected here. A beautiful exhibition for those interested in the romantic landscape paintings, history of travel, cultural heritage.

Info: www.museocivicomontepulciano.it tel. 0578 717300

Presentation of the restoration of the "Madonna penitente"

Presentation of the restoration of the "Madonna penitente" painted
by the Italian Baroque Giovanni Antonio Ricci called "Lo Spadarini" an artist who was a member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio).
Museo Civico , Piazza Grande June 1st 2018 at 1630h
(speech in Italian)

The good century of Sienese art

The good century of Sienese art is one of the more important cultural initiative of 2017.
It finally introduces the idea of a "widespread" exhibition not limited to a museum but rather part of an itinerary among three beautiful towns considered gems of art and architecture: Montepulciano, Pienza and San Quirico.

Madonna with baby Jesus and Saint Leonard e Sebastian
painted by Bartolomeo Neroni called "Il Riccio"
Palazzo Chigi in San Quirico

From the exhibition website: "The idea of this original exhibition came about in order to rectify such a severe shortcoming. The towns of Montepulciano, San Quirico d’Orcia and Pienza are each going to host a section of the exhibition dedicated to an important artist from the area and to his environment, inspired by a masterpiece already present in the towns. Each sector also envisages an itinerary to discover other works as significant as those on display but which, for various reasons, have remained in their original locations. This solution enables the ideal completion of the visit with the added value of travelling around and discovering a splendid and magnificently preserved land. All the works on show come from prestigious public and private collections, churches and other religious institutions, the aim being to offer visitors as thorough a vision as possible of a great century which has been unjustly forgotten."

From 18 March to 30 June from Monday to Sunday 1030h to 1830h (Tuesday closed)
The entrance ticket for the three locations costs 12 euro.

Montepulciano, Pienza and San Quirico are the three location where the exhibition is located

Further info on the official website:

https://ilbuonsecolodellapitturasenese.wordpress.com/the-good-century-of-sienese-art/

Eco Renaissance in Montepulciano

EcoRinascimento Exhibition, a way of promotinf a cultural change in our way of living by analyzing the "environmental burden" of our behavior.

It proposes solutions to overcome the crisis, promoting eco-mobility projects, eco-design with alternative energy, energy saving, eco-art and art of recycling, green building, bio-climatic, self-construction, kitchen gardens, organic farming, nutrition and natural medicine.

It proposes projects with renewable energies that help to restructure the areas examined, and turn into a strong identity and attraction points. Combine technological progress in harmony with the history and the landscape, and create synergies between professionals, artists, artisans and businesses.