July 29, 2025

193 - Leonardo Da Vinci part 3 - twilight and legacy

193 - Leonardo Da Vinci part 3 - twilight and legacy

We explore the fascinating intersection between one of the world’s most famous relics and one of its most brilliant minds: Leonardo Da Vinci and the Shroud of Turin. Was Da Vinci somehow connected to this mysterious cloth? Could he have had the knowledge, access, and motive?

🕯️ What You’ll Hear:

  • The scientific investigation into the Shroud of Turin by the STURP team in 1978 and why their results only deepened the mystery.
  • The carbon dating shock: how the Shroud was traced back not to 1st century Jerusalem, but medieval Europe.
  • The curious photographic qualities of the Shroud and the theories involving camera obscura and silver sulphate.
  • The intriguing possibility that Leonardo Da Vinci had the knowledge and opportunity to create such a sophisticated hoax.
  • A dive into Leonardo’s Milan years: his commissions, his pupils (including the infamous Salaì), and unfinished masterpieces.
  • The story behind The Last SupperVitruvian Man, and Leonardo’s move to the French court under Francis I.
  • Reflections on Leonardo’s final years and his legacy as a polymath, artist, engineer, and relentless thinker.

📍Locations & Highlights:

  • Milan – Leonardo’s court years and commissions under Ludovico Sforza.
  • Kraków – Home to the portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, Lady with an Ermine.
  • Rome, Florence, Amboise – Key stages of Leonardo’s later life.

🔍 Big Questions:

  • Could Da Vinci have created the Shroud?
  • What does the Vitruvian Man really represent?
  • Was Salaì the inspiration behind some of Leonardo’s most enigmatic figures?

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