Reconsidering Leonardo da Vinci's Battle of Anghiari

The volume, published in English, reproposes four important essays originally published in the collection of studies, ‘La Sala Grande di Palazzo Vecchio e la Battaglia di Anghiari di Leonardo da Vinci’, to which two further contributions are added: an essay by Eliana Carrara and one by Francesca Fiorani and Marcello Simonetta. Studying Leonardo and his genius has always been a challenge, and the authors of this volume have chosen to tackle it with a methodological approach that does not seek an absolute truth, but rather deepens the understanding of all the evidence that has emerged from modern scientific analysis and the rigorous examination of historical and archival materials.

A large group of scholars collaborated on the original 2019 project, dedicated to the historical reconstruction of the Battle of Anghiari, one of the most mysterious works in the history of Italian art, which has left behind controversy, stories and even legends. They have been entrusted with the arduous task of reviewing past interpretations, to take a step forward in historical understanding, which in this case has led to the almost certain denial of the hypothesis that Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari lies beneath Vasari's frescoes in the Sala Grande of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.