A unique edition of the Codex Atlanticus as it was in the 1600s. The book is a box made by Pompeo Leoni to collect all of the pages made by Mario Taddei in 2007

A unique edition of the Codex Atlanticus as it was in the 1600s. The book is a box made by Pompeo Leoni to collect all of the pages made by Mario Taddei in 2007

Detail map of Milano, Lombardia, Italy,Firenze, Toscana, Italy,Brooklyn, New York, United States

A: Milano, Lombardia, Italy, B: Firenze, Toscana, Italy, C: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Damage to Codex Atlanticus Caused by Efforts at Preservation

4/2006
A self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in red chalk

A self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in red chalk

In April 2006 Carmen Bambach of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York discovered an extensive invasion of molds of various colors, "including black, red, and purple, along with swelling of pages" on the priceless manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, preserved in the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana in Milan. 

In 2008 The Opificio delle Pietre Dure, in Florence "determined that the colors found on the pages weren't the product of mold, but instead caused by mercury salts added to protect the Codex from mold."

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