Читать книгу The Lost Diary of Leonardo’s Paint Mixer - Alex Parsons - Страница 9

Florence, Winter 1475

Leonardo and I went out for a drink after work the other day and I got to know our resident genius a bit better. He was born in Anchiano, a little village near Vinci. His mother, whom he has never met (to speak to, I mean), was a peasant girl called Caterina. His papa is Piero da Vinci, a successful lawyer who works here in Florence. Obviously Papa da Vinci is a bit of a ladies’ man as Leonardo’s already had four step-mothers, all of them lavishing love and attention on him, so he’s a bit of a Momma’s boy four times over.

Leonardo’s a very charming bloke, no doubt about it. Easy to talk to, and generous too. And he certainly stands out from the crowd. Everyone else wanders around town in long beige robes, but not Leonardo. He wears short velvet doublets* and bright blue tights, a very colourful chap. He doesn’t seem to have much interest in girls, which is a bit odd. I found myself mentioning my wife Giulia rather a lot and banging my tankard about in a manly way.