That Horse

On a recent trip to Italy, Tuscany to be exact, we spent a day in the hill town of Montepulciano. Having packed a lunch we were happy to find a park, Poggiofanti Gardens, which was a pretty (and perfect) place to picnic.

you may click on photo to enlarge

At the edge of the park it was impossible not to notice this huge horse that towered over 10 meters or 32 feet high, so naturally I went over to have a look.

To try and condense the story...here goes: This is a horse statue designed by Leonardo Da Vinci that he never completed. It was commissioned by the Duke of Milan in 1482. Leonardo made very detailed drawings and produced a clay model, but the bronze he was to use had to be given to the war effort to make cannons. The invading French army also destroyed the clay model by using it for target practice.

Fast forward to 1978. An American art enthusiast from Pennsylvania, who by trade was a commercial airline pilot, read about these sketches  in a National Geographic Magazine article.

Mr. Charles Dent set about bringing Leonardo's horse to life. He spent over 2 million dollars on this endeavor, but alas he came down with ALS and died before it was complete. His brother and nephew hired artist Nina Akamu to complete Dent's work.

That horse was presented as a gift to Italian Government in 1999 and sits in the Hippodrome in Milan.

Since then, several other horses have been constructed out of various materials....this being one of them.

I enjoy so many things about travel, especially how educational it is!

To read more, in detail, about Leonardo's horse go HERE