Jerónimo Saavedra and Paolo Santini in conversation with Lorenzo de’ Medici

Leonardo da Vinci may be known as one of the most influential artists of the Italian Renaissance but in his lifetime he stood out, among other métiers, as an engineer, urban planner, scientist, inventor, musician and philosopher. Leonardo had the support of the statesman, diplomat and patron Lorenzo de’ Medici, the most influential figure in Florence. 2019 marks half a millennium since the death of the great polymath and to celebrate his achievements the descendant of his sponsor, Prince Don Lorenzo de’ Medici ­– author of historical novels and thrillers who has taken part in several television programmes about his family – shares the stage with Paolo Santini, ​Medieval and Renaissance art historian and coordinator of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the death of the artist, expert in his legacy and advisor to the House of Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo; and Jerónimo Saavedra, a prominent Spanish politician and connoisseur of the Medici family at the time of Florence’s splendour. The editor of El Adelantado de Segovia, Teresa Herranz, presents the event.