Italian / Italy
Leonardo in festa
(Leonardo celebrating)
Ascari, Giancarlo
(text/illus.)
Valentinis, Pia
(text/illus.)
Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 2019. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-88-570-1473-9
Leonardo da Vinci | Milan | Court | Festival | Renaissance | History 1490 | Picture book
Reading age: 6+
White Ravens issue: 2019
Commemorating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, this colourful picture book portrays the great “Festa del Paradiso”, which Leonardo organized in 1490 on the occasion of Gian Galeazzo Sforza’s marriage to Isabella of Aragón in Milan at the Castello Sforzeso. The guests couldn’t stop marvelling at the wonders: Poetry, music, dance, visual art, light show, pharaonic stage designs, and bold, never-before-seen stage equipment. Readers are shown around the castle’s rooms by Amideo, a young apprentice in the genius’s workshop. With him, readers enjoy the rich colours and artistic inventions; they dive into history and discover lesser-known facts about the life of Leonardo, aside from his more famous works; they meet actors and stage extras, rulers and courtiers. The vibrant illustrations also allude to some of Leonardo’s more famous works. The book is an homage to beauty.