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Leonardotheka 2.0 Launches to Digitally Reunite Leonardo’s Manuscripts

Providing searchable page reconstructions and material data, the platform lets researchers view folios restored to their original context and shows how museums can retain control of digital collections.

Overview

  • Leonardotheka 2.0 went live Monday, combining Milan’s 1,119-sheet Codex Atlanticus with roughly 550 Windsor sheets to create the largest single online resource for Leonardo’s notebooks.
  • The site publishes 50 confirmed page-level reconstructions that return Windsor-held fragments to Codex Atlanticus pages by matching paper size, preparation, inks and watermarks.
  • One high-profile reunion joins Codex Atlanticus folio 399r with Royal Collection folio RCIN 912345r, reuniting a horse drawing with notes on Pavia’s Regisole equestrian monument.
  • Museo Galileo in Florence oversaw the decade-long project in partnership with the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the Royal Collection Trust and the Biblioteca Leonardiana, with half the funding from Italian ministries and the rest from Museo Galileo.
  • Beyond public access, the platform adds filters for content and technique, archival metadata and searchable material evidence, which project leaders say will speed new interdisciplinary research and offer a model for non-commercial digital stewardship.