Codex Atlanticus is a 12-volume manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci, in which the famous scientist touches on topics such as mathematics, botany, hydraulics, astronomy and much more. In addition, his philosophical reflections and artistic writings are included here. The total volume is quite decent - 1119 sheets with a large number of drawings. The records, dated 1478–1519, were collected in the 16th century by the Italian sculptor Pompeo Leoni, who formed full-fledged books from individual notebooks.
At first, all da Vinci's notes were supposed to be published by his student, Francesco Melzi, but he was unable to do this because of the specific handwriting of the scientist. After Melzi's death, the notebooks passed to his son, who showed no interest in them. Further, the papers came to Lelio Gavardi, a home teacher in the Melzi family. He moved the manuscripts to Florence. In the end, the manuscript went to the architect Giovanni Magenta. It was Magenta who gave Leoni the sheets that formed the basis of the Codex Atlanticus.
At some point, the books ended up in Milan. When Napoleon captured the city in 1796, he ordered the manuscripts to be transported to France. It was only at the end of the Napoleonic Wars that the records were returned to Italy, but many of da Vinci's texts remained in Paris and are today kept at the Institut de France.
In 1968–1972 monks from the Order of St. Basil the Great worked on the restoration of the codex. In 2006, Codex Atlanticus again came to the attention of scientists and restorers, who discovered something that looked like mold. It was found that the appearance of spots of black and red is associated with the use of mercury salts, which treated the paper to protect it from damage. No signs of mold were found, and the stains formed on paper added in the 1970s to make the books more durable.
In addition to the Codex Atlanticus, other da Vinci records are also known, collected under one cover. For example, Codex Arundel - notes on mechanics and geometry, dated 1480-1518. Or Codex Leicester, in which all texts are written in mirror, and for reading it is necessary to use a mirror.
