The fascinating world of the technical creations belonging to the Renaissance genius, Leonardo da Vinci, comes to life at the Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni in the exhibition called “Leonardo da Vinci – The Machines”. The exhibition marks 570 years since da Vinci’s birth and 111 years since Cantacuzino Castle’s the establishment, and will be open for the public every day, from 30.04.2022 to 30.10.2022.
During the exhibition, visitors have the chance to admire 45 machines designed over 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci, which were built for the first time in 1970 by a family of Italian artists – in collaboration with the famous historian, Carlo Pedretti – for Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence. Built from wood, these exhibits are faithful reproductions of the sketches and projects discovered in da Vinci’s codices.
Visitors will also be able to interact with 15 of the machines, including Archimedes’ screw, the gear-shift or the hammer driven by eccentric cam. Other amazing inventions present in the exhibition are: the hang glider, the parachute, Brunelleschi’s revolving crane, the hydraulic saw and the reflector, all of which are staying the heart of some of today’s technologies.
More details about the exhibition can be found online at www.cantacuzinocastle.com. Tickets to be purchased directly from the entrance. For group bookings (minimum 20 people), please call +40 722 960 606.
The exhibition, held by the Cantacuzino Castle Art Gallery, will be grouped into four categories: flying machines, hydraulic machines, machines and concepts for civil construction and military inventions. All of these technical creations amaze by the genius of a man who, during the Renaissance period, managed to conceive numerous elements essential in today’s functioning of machines around the world.
“Leonardo da Vinci – the Machines” thus continues its world tour that started in 2003, including over 80 cities in Europe, Asia, North and South America and Australia, setting a record for an exhibition of this sort (over 20 million visitors) and becoming one of the world’s major cultural events. Therefore, Cantacuzino Castle is very proud to add Bușteni, Romania on the list of international locations for this famous exhibition and will transform the Castle for the next 6 months into the “Leonardo da Vinci Castle”.
About Cantacuzino Castle
Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni was built in 1911, at the request of Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, nicknamed “Nababu”, serving as a summer residence for the noble family and being at its inauguration one of the most modern buildings in Europe.
In 2010, the historical monument, meanwhile privately owned, was opened for the first time for visitors, with the aim of giving everyone the chance to admire a part of the Nabab’s heritage. Since then, it has become one of the most important cultural and tourist attractions in Prahova Valley.
In 2015, the Cantacuzino Castle Art Gallery was opened with a first exhibition dedicated to the Spanish painter, Salvador Dali. It was followed by exhibitions of famous graphic works created by artists Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as by contemporary art exhibitions showcasing works by artists Andrei Gamarţ, Nadine Kseibi, Mirela Iordache and the Society of Figurative Artists from Romania, as well as by a large sculpture exhibition that celebrated the Centenary of the Great Union, bringing together 100 Romanian sculptors. These regular exhibitions were followed by many others, in an attempt to delight visitors with art works of international distinction.