The Codex Atlanticus is a collection of twelve notebooks containing a compilation of sketches and writings by Da Vinci collected by Pompeo Leoni. The topics of the codex range across a variety of subjects, from science and technology to town planning  to music. Within the codex are drawings of several machines for lifting an moving heavy weights including hoist and crane mechanisms. It is suspected that Da Vinci’s drawing of these machines may be based off the mechanisms designed by Brunelleschi during the construction of the Florence Duomo which were used by Verrocchio during the time Da Vinci worked in his studio.

“Codex Atlanticus.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Atlanticus.

“LEONARDO DA VINCI - Codex Atlanticus.” Museo Galileo: Institute and Museum of the History Ans Science, brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/genscheda.asp?appl=LIR&xsl=manoscritto&lingua=ENG&chiave=100776.

Image Courtesy of: Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons