On the River Adda in Lombardy, a ferry has been linking the two banks for more than 500 years. It is the so-called “Leonardo’s ferry”, a Renaissance craft without an engine, designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1513.
Today it links Imbersago, in the province of Lecco, with Villa d'Adda, on the Bergamo side of the river. It is the last working example of its kind.
Leonardo da Vinci did not invent the ferry that bears his name
In service for five centuries, the vessel carried people and goods between the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice until the late 18th century, when the Adda marked the border between the two states.
Despite what its name suggests, this type of craft was already widespread in the 15th century. But the boat so captivated Leonardo that he immortalised it in a drawing entitled “Landscape of the Adda with detail of a ferry”, kept in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.
