Leonardo da Vinci's Zibaldone

“This will be a collection without order, made up of many sheets which I have copied here, hoping afterwards to arrange them in order in their proper places..."

Zibaldone, the Italian word for a commonplace book, translates as “a heap of things.” When it comes to Leonardo’s notes, this translation seems laughably understated.

Portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Florence’s Ufizzi Gallery

Few notebooks have the allure and scope of da Vinci’s. The polymath poured the contents of his mind into his notes, remi…