Washington, DC (June 21, 2023) – Inaugurated yesterday in the presence of Italian Ambassador to the United States Mariangela Zappia, Confindustria President Carlo Bonomi, and District of Columbia Secretary of State Kimberly A. Bassett, the exhibition “Imagining the future. Leonardo da Vinci: in the mind of an Italian genius,” the result of a partnership between Confindustria and the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and realized together with the following project partners: Intesa Sanpaolo; ITA Airways; 24ORE Cultura; Dolce & Gabbana; Dompé; Pirelli; Trenitalia. The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, is the first monographic exhibition dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus in the United States and is housed in the public library dedicated to Martin Luther King in Washington.
“This exhibition offers the rare opportunity to appreciate up close the original designs of the Codex Atlanticus, never seen before in the United States,” said Ambassador Zappia. “Thanks to his genius, Leonardo da Vinci is a true symbol of Italian industry and creativity, represented in this wonderful selection of drawings on mechanics, hydraulics, perpetual motion, and other incredible inventions. We are happy to share this exhibition with the American public and congratulate Confindustria for this initiative, which also marks the opening of its office in Washington.”
Confindustria President Carlo Bonomi affirmed, “For all of us it is a privilege to have brought for the first time to America a monographic exhibition of the Ambassador of Made in Italy, Leonardo da Vinci, one of humanity’s greatest geniuses, among the figures who best embody the desire to do business. The 12 drawings of the Codex Atlanticus we have selected, through a collection of futuristic projects, speak of Italian enterprise to the American public. An audience we would like to see as large as possible, because culture must be open to everyone. And nothing is capable of building bridges like culture. This is why we chose the Martin Luther King Public Library, which, with its public mission, is the symbol of social gathering and learning.”
The exhibition, open to the public from Wednesday, June 21, 2023, to Sunday, August 20, 2023, features twelve of Leonardo’s own drawings that deal with his most-studied themes, selected by curator Monsignor Alberto Rocca, among the 1,119 sheets of the Codex Atlanticus, the world’s largest collection of the Renaissance genius’ own drawings and writings. The 12 drawings illustrate Leonardo’s visionary inventions and machines in all fields representative of Italian industry and creativity.
