Da Vinci exhibiton in Oradea, Romania

    

Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions resurrect in a small Transylvanian village.

Lajos Antal lives in Hegykozkovacsi (Cauaceu in Romanian), a small village in Bihor County, Romania. He is a carpenter and woodcarver craftsman and for over six years prepares the models of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions for Italian Leonardo da Vinci-museums.

Five years ago an Italian professor travelled across the country to find someone who can complete the polihistor’s plans and so he found Mr. Antal. He is the only one in the country who produces the machineries drafted by the Italian master. In the last six years he made 35 of da Vinci’s machines in more copies, filling three Italian museums.

The first series of these functioning models was exposed in the old mill of Oradea, the city near the carpenter’s village. The atmosphere of the exhibit hall was perfect to make the Renaissance master’s genius perceptible. Among the objects there was gear system, water powered saw mill, ball bearing, hand-powered water pump, different pulley systems, parachute and bike. Still the most complex work was the prototype of da Vinci’s famous tank. Even if these was only a model of the originally 12 meters long and 6 meters high machinery, the fact that Mr. Antal was the first to solve the question of the functioning of the tank, makes the model really interesting.

Another piece of the exhibition was the inventor’s rifle with twelve barrels. If it would have ever been made, the twelve-barreled rifle would have been very successful, for at the beginning of the age of firearms, to fire twelve guns required twelve people. To discharge da Vinci’s ‘multi-barreled’ rifle one man was enough and even if its transportation was difficult and it could have been used only at the beginning of the battle, it would’ve been a great advantage to own such a gun. A few years ago American scientists made such a rifle based on Leonardo’s plans and it really functioned even if its loading took some time.

The exhibition will not return to Oradea, the machines were taken to the three da Vinci museums in Italy with their center in Torino.

Da Vinci exhibition in Oradea and wedding in Szekelyhid - overview

1. Apr 24, 2009 Da Vinci exhibiton in Oradea (Oradea)  ( 21)
2. Apr 28, 2009 Small town next to the border (Sacuieni)  ( 63)

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