In 2019, Florence and Tuscany are celebrating one of their most notable sons: Leonardo da Vinci. The city and the state will have a whole year of events – among exhibitions, conventions and shows – to honor the genius, 500 years after his death.

Opening the celebrations, the Leicester Code of Leonardo da Vinci can be seen at the Uffizi Gallery until January 20, bringing together some of the master’s works, with his annotations and drawings made between 1504 and 1508. Although antique, the 72 pages can be viewed interactively, thanks to an innovative multimedia aid, the Codescope, that allows the visitor to browse the individual sheets on digital screens, access the transcription of texts and receive multiple information on the topics covered: an original idea to enhance the celebrations of Leonardo da Vinci, who was a man ahead of his time.

At Palazzo Strozzi, from March 8 to July 14, the exhibition Verrocchio, the Master of Leonardo will bring together Andrea del Verrocchio’s masterpieces, who was one of the greatest masters of the Quattrocento. The exhibition will also show the works by Pietro Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci. The Bargello will also be hosting one of the sections.

As part of the celebration, Palazzo Vecchio will display Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, elaborated by da Vinci while he was still working in Tuscany. The Galileo Museum is also planning an exhibition on the theme of ‘Leonardo and his books’, expected to open in April 2019. It is also said that a replica of the Perpetual Motion machine is being made, but there’s no further details yet.

A little bit out of Florence, in the city of Prato, an innovative multimedia exhibition is taking place at the Textile Museum until May 26. “Leonardo da Vinci: Genius and Textiles” shows da Vinci’s research into the mechanization of yarns and fibers, silk and wool manufacturing through drawings, paintings and models.

And, of course, the town of his birth, Vinci, could not be out of the party. There, the visitors will be able to see Leonardo’s first recorded work, dated from 1473, when he would have been 21 years old, ‘Il Paesaggio con Fiume‘: a countryside view with a river, held by many to be the first European landscape work. As it’s very fragile and can be only shown for brief periods of time, the work will be in Vinci for just 5 weeks, from 15 April 2019, anniversary of the birth of Leonardo in Vinci.