Imagine meeting one of the most famous people ever known. What would you ask him\u00a0? What would you like to know about him\u00a0? Here are the questions our class would ask Leonardo da Vinci if they had the chance to meet him.<\/p>\n
Q. When were you born\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I was born in the year 1452.<\/p>\n
Q. Where were you born\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I was born in a little village outside Florence, in Italy, called Vinci. That is what my name means \u2013 Leonardo from Vinci.<\/p>\n
Q. What was it like growing up there\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I loved the countryside and spent my childhood observing the plants and animals I found there. I wanted to understand how they were formed, how they grew. I wanted to understand everthing about the world\u00a0!<\/p>\n
Q.Did you go to school\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I could read and write, but I learned everything from asking my uncle questions about nature, but mostly by observing the things around me.<\/p>\n
Q. What did you do when you observed these things\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I did lots and lots of drawings ad paintings.<\/p>\n
Q. How did you become an artist\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. My father arranged for me to become an apprentice in a Florence artist’s studio when I was twelve. I practised and practised. I learned how to make paints and how to use them.<\/p>\n
Q. When did you start painting the Mona Lisa\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. I started painting this picture in 1503.<\/p>\n
Q. Did you only paint things\u00a0?<\/p>\n
A. No, I was interested in how things worked and so invented many things \u2013 bridges, flying machines, parachutes, tanks. Not all of them were made at the time, though.<\/p>\n
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