Leonardo da Vinci and the Plan of Imola
Map making, one of the oldest form of human communications, was a milestone in human history. The earliest maps can be dated back as far as 4th millennium BCE. Needless to say it was in the form of cave paintings. The first map was found in the prehistoric alpine rock carvings of Mount Bego (France) and Valcamonica (Italy). Modern forms of map making, though started much later can be traced back to 1092, in ancient China. Valcamonica rock art But, it is remotely imaginable that a person who is widely renowned mainly as a painter, all over the world, developed a map, which is relevant till date and is taught in architecture schools all over the world. This is no other than Leonardo da Vinci. His map making techniques changed the process from an art form to science. He returned to Florence at the beginning of the 16th Century, after being employed under the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, for nearly two decades. By that time, da Vinci had already established himself as a scientific g