Today we are so used to those satellite views of the maps, we can ignore that already in 1502 the first satellite map of an Italian city was created. And the prodigal who created it was neither more nor less than the great Leonardo da Vinci.
A genius in his time who was ahead of istechnology that today allows us to take photographs to satellite view. Best of all, the brilliant mind of the Italian artist was able to devise on his own how the city of Imola would be seen from the skies.
And even if we pose the own map drawn by da Vinci on the satellite view from the same city, we can understand the genius and art behind the mind of the versatile Italian artist. It was in 1502 when he received the order of one of the Borgias when he was installed in the city.
One of your duties was to help Borgia to know the territory of the city. And the surprising thing was that Leonardo distanced himself from the maps that were created in those times when the "normal" ones were created in perspective and one that prevented the vision of the surrounding buildings.
Visually very striking maps, but they lacked the shape and scale of those with a satellite view that we have today and that Leonardo brilliantly devised. It was Vitruvius, a Roman engineer, the one that inspired Leonardo to create an iconographic map. It is the map that helps us to know the distances, shapes, curves and other spaces of interest to specify an area.
Leonardo would use a compass to guide the city and of all the walls, especially the angle of the same and thus be able to recreate the satellite map of the city of Imola. We leave you with new ones Leonardo's drawings that came to light recently.