Milan and the Adda Valley are preparing to become a single vast open-air museum dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci. The Metropolitan City of Milan, Adda Nord Park, and the Municipality of Cornate d’Adda have indeed signed an agreement that will launch The Path of Leonardo, a three-year project designed to connect, through a multimedia system, all the places tied to the Tuscan genius, from the Lombard capital to the river that captivated him so much.
It is no accident that the Adda river sits at the heart of the operation: for decades Leonardo studied this territory, observing its waters and landscapes to devise hydraulic engineering projects and representations of the riverine scenery that later flowed into the Codex Atlanticus and the Madrid Codex. A body of work that has left a tangible heritage, made up of places, studies, and testimonies that today form the basis of a new tourist and cultural narrative.
In Leonardo’s Footsteps Along the Adda
Few people know it, but walking along the Adda means retracing Leonardo’s own steps. It is from this awareness that a new way of telling the territory arises. On one side, Milan, with the idea of a diffuse museum that leaves the exhibition rooms to transform streets, embankments, and landscapes into an open-air narrative. On the other side, Adda Nord Park, guardian for years of the places where the Tuscan genius worked closely with nature.
This is certainly an idea nurtured over the years, especially when considering the Leonardo Year celebrations in 2019 and the volume “Leonardo, Artist and Engineer in the Adda Valley,” authored by scholar Luca Tomio, which had already put this corner of Lombardy in the spotlight.
The diffuse museum dedicated to Leonardo Da Vinci
During the 2026-2028 three-year period, a digital and multimedia system will take shape, capable of networking the main sites tied to Leonardo, creating thematic routes that will accompany visitors from Milan to the Adda’s banks. The first phase of the project involves mapping the territory, with georeferencing of all identified points of interest, so as to build a solid foundation for developing multimedia content and itineraries.
Among the most anticipated innovations is the creation of a new multimedia room inside Villa Gina in Cornate d’Adda, which will become the first immersive hub of the entire itinerary. A space designed to introduce visitors to Leonardo’s world before guiding them along the river, tracing his studies and direct observations.
The Path of Leonardo thus presents itself as much more than a simple cultural project: it is conceived as a genuine territorial marketing plan, capable of reaching an audience interested not only in art but also in science, engineering, and landscape. A way to uncover lesser-known corners of Lombardy, giving weight and visibility even to places like Cornate d’Adda.
