Leonardo Da Vinci E Il Tamburo Meccanico - Part 44 - Mechanical drum reconstruction project

Oct 29, 2026

AMMI presents the reconstruction of Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical drum mechanism, describing how Franco Severi and Ernestino Marchetti spearheaded the project through a dedicated team and workshop. The article explains Leonardo’s broader scientific approach—testing ideas through experimentation—and applies it to musical mechanisms built from components not originally intended to be mechanical. It recounts the Atlantic Codex design (Codice Atlantico f.837 r) and documents development from rotating toothed cylinders to the finished drum exhibited in the AMMI museum.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Leonardo’s mechanical drum reconstruction

Leonardo’s research approach and musical mechanisms

Atlantic Codex design reference (f.837 r)

Building steps and documentation (Figures 4-9)

Completion, testing, and museum display

Carousel Organ, Issue No. 44—July, 2010 Leonardo Da Vinci E Il Tamburo Meccanico (Leonardo Da Vinci’s Defined Mechanical Drum)* Ernestino Marchetti AMMI (Mechanical Italian Music Association) he AMMI presents the reconstruction project of the Tm(Fusicaigurel 1m) echanism ofdefined mechanLieconardoal drum . DThais Vinprocjiec’st was spearheaded by Franco Severi, President of the AMMI, and Ernestino Marchetti. They created a team of workers as well as a workshop where all involved could contribute. This article details some of the work involved as well as the final outcome. We have come to know Leonardo’s character through his notebooks which express the unlimited curiosity of a man whose interests ranged from comparative anatomy to painting, and from musical instruments to hydraulic engineering and all kinds of machines. He was a scientist, artist and inventor who did not perceive contradictions between the various aspects of knowledge. His explorations, encompassing every type of knowledge, were achieved through research into new methods and new contents derived from experimentation. He thought that research should be done using mathematical demonstrations and he emphasized the importance of experience. For him, a b s t r a c t concepts could not be considered real unless they w e r e proven by experimentation. In his manuscripts, Leonardo writes about the concept of musical mechanisms as applications of mechanical parts of instruments which were not originally mechanical. He first designed rotating cylinders with teeth between 1490 and 1495. The mechanical drum joined this category through the use of the nailed cylinder used in moving the drumsticks (Figure 2) . This mechanism’s evolution led to the development of complete families of instruments. Approximately five hundred years ago Leonardo recorded his design of machinery and his thoughts on how to facilitate man’s work and activities. This way of thinking was new, just as were some specific objects he studied as part of mechanics. Many of his ideas were too advanced for his era and were only constructed many years later. The roots of this current project date back to that time in the late fifteenth century when Leonardo thought of how to avoid that hundreds of drummers (who accompanied the army with the rhythmic sound of drums) died during the battles. So why not make a mechanical device that, pulled by a horse or two men, replaced at least a dozen of traditional drums? Leonardo imagined a system that would make it possible to produce the rhythmic sound with the movement of the wheels by using a crank positioned on the axis of the wheels. Figure 3. The Atlantic original design Code f.837 r. Close inspection reveals the wheeled unit with drum beaters activated by pinned cylinders. Mauro Carpiceci, scientific director of the AMMI anda student of Leonardo da Vinci, developed the plan used to reconstruct the mechanical drum from the original *This article represents an abridged edition of the original that was published in the Periodico dell’Associazione Musica Meccanica Italiana Quadrimestrale, April, 2009. Carousel Organ, Issue No. 44—July, 2010 design that is on the Atlantic Code (Atlantic Codex-the largest collection of drawings and writings of Leonardo da Vinci. It includes 1,119 sheets collected in 12 volumesand is currently housed in Milan, Italy) . Codice Atlanticof 837 r represents a sort of wooden cart carrying a big drum; the beaters are five for each membrane (two are positioned on both sides of the drum) and are connected to the wheels, and activated through a complex mechanism of action (Figure 3) . Figure 4. Completing the towing pinion. Figure 5. Mounting the barrels to the chassis. Following are photographs (Figures 4 to 9) detailing some of the work done to complete the da Vinci Mechanical drum. A celebration of the completion was held in March, 2009 in Longiano, Italy (a town located in the Emilia-Romagna region o

FAQs

Who led the AMMI project to reconstruct Leonardo’s mechanical drum?

The reconstruction work was spearheaded by Franco Severi, President of AMMI, together with Ernestino Marchetti.

What sources and evidence does the article rely on for the drum reconstruction?

The article references Leonardo’s notebooks and the Atlantic Codex design Codice Atlantico f.837 r, describing the wheeled unit and pinned cylinder beaters.

What happens after the mechanical drum is completed?

A celebration of completion was held in March 2009 in Longiano, Italy, and the finished drum is displayed at the museum of Villa Silvia in Cesena, Italy.

Oct 29, 2026

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