Urban Representantion Systems In The Reinaissance: Context And Innovations In Leonardo Da Vinci`S Urban Models

Antonio Espínola Jiménez

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3731-4946

Spain

Universidad de Granada image/svg+xml

Professor of the 'Department of Graphic Architectural Expression and Engineering' at the Higher Technical School of Building Engineering of the University of Granada.

'Technical Architect' from the University of Granada in 2010 and later graduated in 'Building Engineering' from the University of Seville in 2014. 'Master's in Comprehensive Management and Safety in Building' from the University of Granada (2012), and 'Master's in Universal Accessibility, Usability, and Design for All' from the University of Jaén.

 

During the period of 2019-2024, he taught at the Universidad Isabel I de Castilla in the faculties of 'Legal and Economic Sciences' and 'Criminology and Security Sciences'. Since 2024, he has been an Assistant Professor Doctor in the 'Department of Architectural Graphic Expression and Engineering' at the Technical School of Building Engineering at the University of Granada.

His main research areas are universal accessibility, occupational risk prevention, and areas related to architecture and engineering.

Rubén López Cantero

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5768-0230

Spain

Universidad de Granada

Departamento de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica y en la Ingeniería

David Hidalgo García

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4039-8709

Spain

Universidad de Granada

Departamento de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica y en la Ingeniería

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Accepted: 2025-12-26

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Published: 2025-12-31

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/ege.2025.24256
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Keywords:

City, urban design, Middle Ages, Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance, Representation Systems

Supporting agencies:

This research was not funded

Abstract:

During the late Middle Ages and the early years of the Renaissance, the ways of representing cities in  treatises  and  manuscripts  evolved  considerably.  This  change  responded  to  the  need  to  conceive  urban  design  from  a  more  planned  perspective,  based  on  increasingly  elaborate  technical  models.  Although  perspective  and  orthogonal  projection  were  already  in  use  earlier,  they  were  reinterpreted  in the Renaissance with a more refined character. Some artists combined both approaches and used chromatic variations to reinforce altimetric and structural aspects of urban spaces. Leonardo da Vinci was an essential figure in this renovation. His codices and manuscripts reflect these innovations, which are studied here from the perspective of their contribution to urban representation, a field usually relegated to the background.

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