In 1485, Da Vinci outlined his idea of an “ideal city”. This was a large departure from the previous Medieval cities in Italy, where the city grew naturally and there was no set plan for the locations of waterways or streets. During the plague, almost a third of Milan’s population was killed, so Leonardo wanted to redesign Milan in a way that would reduce the spread of disease and promote efficiency of getting from one place to another. His design featured two separate levels, a lower level of canals for moving goods and common folk, and an upper level for “gentlemen”. To mitigate the chance of another widespread disease impacting the city, Da Vinci planned for the lower level to have a sewer system and the roads on the upper level to be wider than Milan’s very narrow streets so people wouldn’t be as packed together. With regard to the movement of people around the city, he envisioned large wagons and carriages using the lower level streets, making it easier for people on foot to get around on the upper level. Due to the cost of completely rebuilding Milan, Da Vinci’s ideal city was never constructed.
Leonardos mechanical knight consisted of a suit of armor with a set of gears and pulleys inside designed to mimic human motion. Like his lion, the original knight has not survived, but a modern reconstruction has been made by Mark Rosheim. DaVinci's knight wasused for enternainment for Lodovico Sforza and his guests. The knight likely would have been powered by springs or a waterwheel, and could have sat, stood, raised its visor, and moved its arms.
A 24-foot horse sculpture was commissioned by the Duke of Milan to be built, and Da Vinci did not back out of this challenge. If built it would have been the largest sculpture of a horse in that period. To do so, Da Vinci created a miniature beeswax model to emulate the 24-foot model. He even conquered design challenges like mold making and heating a large amount of bronze for the sculpture through his notes. However, the amount of bronze required was bartered for the prevention of invasion by the French. Thus he did not practice the various design methods he conceptualized. However, the sculpture is now renown to be unlike any other work of his, especially because of the contrast of his earlier works as an apprentice. Moreover, there is an impression of a thumb on the rider’s chest that is said to be Leonardo’s.
Leonardo made an autonomous mechanical lion which opened to reveal lillies and other flowers, symbolizing the bond between 2 powerful families of Florence and France, with the lion representing Florence and the flowers France. The original mechanical lion has been lost, but a replica hhas een made at the Chateau du Clos Luce and Parc. The original lion could supposedly walk, move its head, and reveal the flowers hidden inside its body.
