1033

Notes on the North Italian lake.

At Santa Maria in the Valley of Ravagnate [Footnote 2: Ravagnate (Leonardo writes Ravagnā) in the Brianza is between Oggiono and Brivio, South of the lake of Como. M. Ravaisson avails himself of this note to prove his hypothesis that Leonardo paid two visits to France. See Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1881 pag. 528:

Au recto du meme feuillet, on lit encore une note relative a une vallee “nemonti brigatia”; il me semble qu’il s’agit bien des monts de Briancon, le Brigantio des anciens. Briancon est sur la route de Lyon en Italie. Ce fut par le mont Viso que passerent, en aout 1515, les troupes francaises qui allaient remporter la victoire de Marignan.

Leonard de Vinci, ingenieur de Francois Ier, comme il l’avait ete de Louis XII, aurait-il ete pour quelque chose dans le plan du celebre passage des Alpes, qui eut lieu en aout 1515, et a la suite duquel on le vit accompagner partout le chevaleresque vainqueur? Auraitil ete appele par le jeune roi, de Rome ou l’artiste etait alors, des son avenement au trone?] in the mountains of Brianza are the rods of chestnuts of 9 braccia and one out of an average of 100 will be 14 braccia.

At Varallo di Ponbia near to Sesto on the Ticino the quinces are white, large and hard.

[Footnote 5: Varallo di Ponbia, about ten miles South of Arona is distinct from Varallo the chief town in the Val di Sesia.]

Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.

Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
XVII: Topographical Notes.
. . .
1013
Estimates and preparatory studies for canals.
1014,
1015
Notes on buildings in Milan.
1016,
1017,
1018,
1019,
1020
Remarks on natural phenomena in and near Milan.
1021,
1022
Note on Pavia.
1023
Notes on the Sforzesca near Vigevano.
1024,
1025,
1026,
1027,
1028
Notes on the North Italian lake.
1029,
1030,
1031,
1032,
1033
Notes on places in Central Italy, visited in 1502.
1034,
1035,
1036,
1037,
1038,
1039,
1040,
1041,
1042,
1043,
1044,
1045,
1046,
1047,
1048,
1049,
1050,
1051,
1052,
1053
. . .