“The Universe of Leonardo da Vinci” has arrived in Mérida to reveal what the inventor’s inventions would have looked like if they were fully realized.
Bargain shoppers will have no problem finding the exhibit when it opens Oct. 30. It is being set up at the original Costco building on Calle 60, north of the Centro. The space has been vacant for four years.
Given the scale of the exhibit, it’s not hard to understand why “The Universe” requires such an immense space.
Access to the exhibition will be through a corridor meant to represent a “time tunnel,” where visitors will be transported to da Vinci’s Florence hometown. A series of 30 original, life-size mock ups brings his sketched-out inventions to life.
The exhibition is divided by the four elements. The earth section displays agricultural equipment; the water section’s machines are designed to produce sea-powered energy; air includes the flight machines as imagined by da Vinci; and the fire area displays weapons he developed.
Among other activities, drawing, painting and sculpture workshops will be held for children, youth and adults, as well as conferences to learn more about the polymath.
The event arrives in the White City by way of the Echazarreta Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).
Mexico is the first country in Latin America to receive “The universe of Leonardo da Vinci,” which will remain in Merida until Jan. 30.
Marking the 500 years since da Vinci’s death, the exhibit is then headed to Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, as well as the United States, Dubai, Quatar and Abu Dhabi.
Entry costs 100 pesos.
