The mother of the great Renaissance figure, Leonardo da Vinci, could be a Circassian, originally from the territory of modern Russia. This is indicated by the study, which refers to edition of The Daily Beast.
According to the work of history professor Carlo Vecce, da Vinci’s mother was ransomed from slavery by his father.
Peasant son of Leonardo
The origin of the mother of the Renaissance genius has always been shrouded in darkness. Unlike the artist’s father, information about her is extremely rare. We know her name was Katerina. It is believed that she was a poor girl, probably from a peasant family. Caterina became pregnant by da Vinci’s father, the wealthy notary Piero di Bartolomeo, when she was unmarried.
The first three years of his life, Leonardo lived with his mother, then he was taken in by his father, whose first official marriage turned out to be childless. Moreover, da Vinci grew up in the wealthy Florentine household of his father, who at the age of 14 gave him as an apprentice to the painter Andrea del Verrocchio. Having become a famous artist, Leonardo practically said nothing about his mother. It has even been said that Leonardo da Vinci was embarrassed by his low origin.
Eastern Express
Now, historian Carlo Vecce said he found a document in the Florentine archives, according to which the mother of the future painter was freed from slavery, and none other than Father Leonardo redeemed her from captivity. Vecce, who is a professor at the Neapolitan University of the East, believes that she was abducted in the territory of the modern North Caucasus. The teacher believes that the girl was a Circassian, originally from the region, on whose territory the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea are now located.
Further, through Constantinople, which at that time was still the capital of Byzantium, which was rapidly shrinking under the pressure of the Turks, she arrived in Venice, and from there she was transported to the city of Vinci near Florence. Here, allegedly, the meeting of Pierrot and a slave from Eastern Europe took place. The historian believes it happened in the summer of 1451. Leonardo da Vinci’s official birth date is April 15, 1452. Free as his alleged mother was freed seven months later. In a document written in Latin, Katerina is described as a “slave of” Circassia “. It was signed by “Monsieur Pierrot”, notary.
Circassian or Italian
In an interview with NBC, Carlo Vecce said: “At first I didn’t trust the theory that she was an alien slave.
So I spent months trying to prove that Katerina, according to the notarial deed, couldn’t be Leonardo’s mother.
But in the end the documents I found convinced me, I was forced to surrender under the weight of the evidence.
Moreover, the scientist tries to support his version. “At that time, many slaves were called Katerina. But this was the only free one issued for a slave named Katerina, who was freed by Piero da Vinci during his long career (Leonardo’s father lived 77 years Moreover, the document is riddled with minor errors and inaccuracies. This may mean that Piero was nervous when he composed it, because by the standards of the time, he committed a crime. sex with someone else’s servants was a crime.
However, the Italian medievalist’s version is already disputed by other scholars.
“Carlo Vecce is a great scholar, but I think he was looking for a sensation here, preferring it to a more boring official version,” says Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of art history at Oxford University.
According to Kemp, Leonardo’s mother was still Caterina di Meo Lippi, an Italian orphan who lived in a peasant house near the town of Vinci.
