View of Vinci, the Tuscan village where Leonardo da Vinci was born.
The lush vineyards, fields and streams that inspired Leonardo's art have changed little over the centuries. Renaissance experts believe that the artist's most famous works, including the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper," were inspired by his upbringing on this very land.
A villager holds a flag in the colors of a Tuscan village.
Born on April 15, 1452, the result of an illicit relationship between a notary and a teenage peasant girl, Leonardo was raised by his grandfather and uncle after birth.
A tourist looks at souvenir items bearing the mark of Leonardo da Vinci at a souvenir shop.
Visitors to Vinci almost all have one common wish: to be able to walk on the paths the famous artist walked five centuries earlier, to see the waterfalls and vineyards that once moved the artist's eyes and heart.
Tourists walk past the Santa Croce church in the village of Vinci
This famous Tuscan left Vinci as a teenager and traveled 19 miles to Florence to study hydraulic power and its applications. His knowledge of this field was reflected in many of his drawings.
A man who looks like Leonardo in the village.
Leonardo is shown in self-portraits as a man with a stern forehead and flowing beard, who had a great love for painting and sculpture and developed a passion for anatomy, architecture, and music.
View from Castello dei Conti Guidi. The village takes its name from the vinchio willow tree, whose soft branches are used by farmers to tie down their grapevines.
Tourists admire the Santa Croce church.
A visitor to Leonardo's house Leonardo
Tourists at the Leonardo da Vinci museum at Castell Conti Guidi
Santa Croce Church
The dramatic landscapes and lifestyles that influenced Leonardo throughout his life remain largely intact in Vinci, according to Keithta Barsanti, director of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Leoni. The natural world was a rich source of ideas for the imaginative inventor, who designed machines that would only be built centuries later – from tanks to telescopes, airplanes to diving equipment.
A man dressed as Leonardo da Vinci is talking to tourists
