We are just a few weeks away from Milan Design Week mos especially to one of the main design events of the year: The Salone del Mobile.Milano. In this article, we’ll focus on this year’s theme of both events: The Tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Work and Life.

This tribute happens as a celebration of the 500th Anniversary of his Death. With that in mind, the organization decided to advance with this daring concept sure to likely put the 58th edition of the biggest design event in Europe on the map for the ages.

Leonardo da Vinci is recognized nowadays as one of the biggest artists his time and all time for that matter! For that reason, Salone del Mobile and Milan will pay tribute to his work through two outstanding and hugely evocative installations at Fiera Milano. To create the concept they’ve picked an element that embarks more than one factor: the relationship between Da Vinci, Milan, and Water for the theme of one of the exhibitions.

The first exhibition is called “AQUA”, and it’s a tribute to the originality and visionary mind of Da Vinci’s studies and work and, of course, establishing a connection to one of his greatest works in the region of Milan: The Naviglio Grande!

It’s obvious for those who know Milan and Da Vinci’s work that you’ll be able to find this exhibition at historical Conca dell’Incoronata, an element of Milan with construction planned by Da Vinci himself during his work on another one of his great works: The Naviglio Grande! The Conca dell’Incoronata was decommissioned in 1930, but from 1496 to 1929 was considered one of the main sources of natural water of Milan.

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This historical site will be covered over with an architectural insert in the form of a great expanse of water, on the edge of which a huge LED screen will become a window onto a future Milan. It will be showing a skyline that changes according to the time of day. Beneath this structure, a wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) will be created, where visitors can experience all the beauty, energy and shape of water, enfolded in image and sound thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology, in a totally self-contained environment.

The second exhibition is at Pavilion 24 of Fiera Milan and it’s called DE-SIGNO. It will be honoring not only Italian Design but also Da Vinci’s Artistic Work, by exploring the awesomeness of the Made in Italy design products and craftsmanship. It will also serve as a way of comparing the current products with the ones made during the times of the great Master. This exhibition is sure to be compiling all the stunning contemporary design we’re all so used to see at Salone del Mobile.

Milan was one of Da Vinci’s favorite cities, only next to Florence. He lived in this very same city many years, helping to shape the cultural, architectural and artistic vision of this incredible and historical town! In Milan, he painted some of his most recognized and accomplished works of art, namely the iconic painting of “Last Supper” as well as the aforementioned develop the Naviglio Grande that, till this day, remains as the top water canal of the Lombardia Region.

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Next to the iconic “Mona Lisa” painting, that’s currently on exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the “Last Supper” it’s one of the main paintings of Da Vinci’s legacy. Today you can see this amazing masterpiece in Milan, namely, at the iconic Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, that’s been the Home of this Masterpiece for decades.

Another relic of Leonardo Da Vinci that’s still in exhibition in Milan is the Atlantic Code! For those who don’t know, the Atlantic Code is the corpus of Leonardo’s autograph manuscripts and is so called because of the size of its sheets, used at that time for the geographical atlases. This relic includes a series of sketches, preparatory drawings for paintings, mathematical calculations, philosophical meditations and even recipes. It’s a real journey through time and the ingenious mind of Leonardo da Vinci that’s currently in exhibition at the Ambrosiana Art Gallery.

Da Vinci lived right in front of the church at the 65 Corso Magenta ate Casa degli Atellani! The home belonged to the Atellans, a family that were courtiers of the historical Milanese citizen Ludovico Sforza, one of the patrons of Da Vinci. In 1948, the Atellani had a vineyard planted for Leonardo, who loved good wine and worldliness and loved this gift very much. That vine still exists and, today, it’s an important historical style.

If you want to get the Inspiration Vibe of Da Vinci, then you need to step away from the City of Milan and visit the outskirts of the city! You can go to Paderno d’Adda, a place where the River Adda flows. It’s in this stretch of river you can visit the places where Leonardo studied the rapids to find a way to transport the building materials by water despite that stretch was not navigable. Leonardo took inspiration from the landscapes of this river for the backgrounds of his famous paintings “Virgin of the Rocks” or even “Mona Lisa”/ “Gioconda”.

Then you can also see the Duomo, Milan’s most Iconic building and it’s construction spanned for over 400 years! Some parts of the cathedral were designed during Da Vinci’s lifetime, Da Vinci only made some drawings for the domed crossing tower but these never moved to the construction phase because, according to the local legends, Leonardo told his superiors that his plans and options where inferior to the ones provided by other two court architects: Amadeo and Dolcebuono.

Most of the events of Milan regarding DaVinci will only start to happen in May (aka The Month that Leonardo Died). Milan is preparing a huge celebration and thought all the Summer you’ll be able to visit countless exhibits, expos and masterclasses about the painter! One of the big events of the programme is the return to Milan of the “Madonna Litta”, which the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg is loaning to the Poldi Pezzoli Museum for a special exhibition.

One of the brands that will certainly be showing a tribute to the Italian master is PullCast.  top and luxury hardware brand will debut at Salone del Mobile.Milano a special and commemorative piece that’s inspired in one of Da Vinci’s top works! One of the many brands you can’t miss at the event.

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