A Treatise on Painting

to my great fortune, the Vatican Codex presented itself to me, from which the present edition is drawn, and of which it is now time that I speak a little. This Codex formerly belonged to the Library of the Dukes of Urbino, and passed with the rest of the Library of those Princes into this of the Vatican on the occasion—

...of [Gavardi's] departure, as he had to return to Milan, he delivered the volumes of Vinci to me, praying me to restore them to the Melzi family. I loyally performed his commission, and returned everything to Dr. Orazio, head of the Melzi family, who was quite surprised that I had taken so much trouble; and he made me a gift of those books, telling me that he had many other drawings by the same author, neglected for a long time in a corner of his country house. Thus those books became mine, and later my brothers'. These brothers, boasting of such an acquisition made so easily, aroused the envy of other enthusiasts, who went to Dr. Orazio and obtained from him drawings, figures, anatomical preparations, and other precious remains from Leonardo's studio. One of those who obtained the most was Pompeo Aretino, son of the Knight Leoni, a pupil of Buonarroti Michelangelo, who was in the service of King Philip II of Spain, for whom he had made all the bronzes that are in the Escorial. Pompeo promised Dr. Melzi a seat in the Senate of Milan if he succeeded in recovering the thirteen volumes, wishing to offer them to King Philip, who was a lover of such curiosities. Flattered by this hope, Dr. Orazio went to my brother, begging him on his knees to return the gift he had made him; and since he was a colleague, friend, and benefactor, my brother returned seven of them. Of the other six that remained in the Mazzenta house, one was donated to Cardinal Federico Borromeo for the Ambrosian Library... Another was later given by my brother to Ambrogio Figini, who left it to his heir Ercole Bianchi with the rest of his studio. Due to the urgency expressed to me by the Duke of Savoy, I procured a third one for him as well. My brother having then died outside of Milan, the other three volumes also came into the hands of Pompeo Aretino, who joined other drawings and writings of Leonardo to them, and by separating the leaves, he formed a large volume This refers to the famous Codex Atlanticus which passed to his heir Polidoro Calchi, and was later sold to Mr. Galeazzo Arconati. This generous man still has it in his rich Library, having refused to sell it to the Duke of Savoy and to other princes who sought it.

In this Barberini Library, under No. 3457, is preserved a neat Manuscript copied from Leonardo's originals with this title: Leonardo da Vinci on the motion and measurement of waters. (And at the end there is this note): These are nine Books on the motion and measurement of water by Leonardo da Vinci, collected and ordered from various of his manuscripts by Friar Luigi Maria Arconati, Dominican Master of Sacred Theology, 1643. This is perhaps a copy of the Originals generously donated by the Arconati Family to the Ambrosian Library as far back as the year 1637.