ASSISI, Italy -- An exhibition commemorating the revolutionary work of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance visionary who predicted global communication 500 years ago, opened Saturday in this central Italian city.
The exhibit explores Leonardo's inventions, art and influence on the modern world.It includes models based on his designs for a hang glider, propeller-driven roasting spits, ball-bearing baby strollers and forerunners of today's home appliances, such as the pressure cooker and the steam iron.
Two of Leonardo's drawings from the private collection of Barbara Johnson of Princeton, N.J., are also on view, along with paintings by Goya, Salvador Dali and other artists inspired by da Vinci.
According to Alessandro Vezzosi, curator of the government-sponsored exhibit, the inspiration for it came from a line in Leonardo's manuscript "Atlantic Codex."
"Men will talk and touch and embrace while being in one and the other hemisphere, and will understand each other's language."
Leonardo stopped in Assisi in 1503 on his way to Rome from Perugia and is thought to have met there with his friend, the political philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli.
The exhibit will travel to other Italian cities and possibly abroad later this year. It will be enriched by da Vinci-inspired works by artists who -- in keeping with the tone of the exhibition -- have been asked to make their submissions by fax or e-mail.