Two separate exhibitions in Rome and Naples are under way showcasing many reconstructions of the machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
The Rome exhibition runs at the Galleria Agostiniana until March 4, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Thursday. It comprises 50 models, many full-sized, based on drawings in Leonardo's various coded notebooks such as the Codex Arundel, Madrid, Atlantic, Forster and Leicester.
Included among the displays are a huge machine for digging trenches, a horse-drawn wagon with scythes for mowing down enemies at the front, rear and sides; and a model of a suspension bridge that armies could build quickly when they needed to cross a river, ANSA said.
The Naples exhibition runs through Feb. 26 and also features various Leonardo inventions, including a mechanical drum on a cart that was designed to replace hundreds of drummers who risked their lives during 15th-century battles. The device, pulled by a horse or two men, would have generated the same effect as a dozen small drums.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
Rome displays Thracian treasures
What is described as a spectacular archaeological exhibit focusing on Bulgaria's Thracian heritage opened Wednesday at Rome's Palazzo del Quirinale.
Ancient marble staircase found in Rome
Italian archeologists said an ancient staircase made of marble was uncovered during excavations beneath Rome's Piazza Venezia.
Rome to 'paint' Trajan's Column with light
Archaeologists want to use light to recreate the brilliant colors once seen on Trajan's Column in Rome.
Dig yields shrine to Roman twins' she-wolf
The shrine where ancient Romans worshiped the she-wolf who nursed Rome's mythical founding twins, Romulus and Remus, may have been found, archaeologists said.
Even Ancient Greeks and Romans Enjoyed Good Scary Stories, Professor Says
These days, Halloween is all about good scary fun, but people have been thrilling to spooky tales as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, according to University of Massachusetts Amherst classics professor Debbie Felton, who studies the folklore of the supernatural.
Underwater noise harming fish
Man-made underwater noise threatens the health and reproductive capacity of many fish and marine mammals, an Italian researcher says.
Butterfly's DNA may alter Ice Age data
Discoveries of a butterfly species' DNA in the Far East and Western Europe may rewrite the known history of the Pleistocene Ice Age.
Italy's wolves bounce back
Italy's wolves, once at risk of extinction, have bounced back, but still are at risk, an expert speaking in Rome said.