Many of the 1200 sheets in the codex, which are kept at the Ambrosian Library in Milan and bound in 12 volumes, have been stained and damaged by mould. Bambach said that there were ‘a large number of stains’ and ’swellings’ in the paper of the codex, reports Times Online. After discovering, she raised the alarm by informing Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, then the head of the Ambrosian Library, now head of the pontifical Council for Culture at the Vatican. However, since there was no funding available, four Florence restorers, including Garbriele Coccolini, Cecilia Frosinini, Letizia Montalbano and Roberto Boddi, travelled to Milan at their own expense. Boddi, a climatologist, said that the problem had arisen partly because the volumes were consulted by visiting scholars and exposed to the atmosphere and humidity. Various types of mould, in colours ranging from black to red and purple, were identified on the drawings, which include sketches for some of Leonardo’s most ingenious inventions. read more

Tags: codex, bambach, damage, florence, ambrosian, leonardo da vinci, boddi, leonardo da vinci paintings