Da Vinci and Machiavelli’s Supervillain Plan To Steal a River
Written by Joe Anthony
Presented by Todd Lemense
In 1502, in the court of Cesare Borgia, two brilliant men hatched a scheme that would change history. A scheme which, if their plan worked, would destroy a major city, move a river, and make both men rich beyond their dreams.
In one corner of this collaboration, we have Niccolò Machiavelli; the devious, cunning statesman. In 1502 Machiavelli was sent by Florence to spy on Cesare Borgia, the son of the Pope. Which, Borgia knew about. Machiavelli would someday use his political experience spying in Borgia’s court to write the literal book on power schemes, The Prince. To this day, when we call someone a schemer, we say they’re “Machiavellian.”
In the opposite corner, we have Leonardo da Vinci. Sensitive painter, artist, and overall genius. da Vinci had been hired to design siege weapons for Cesare Borgia. By 1502, he was following Borgia around North-Eastern Italy, drawing up new fortifications for his castles.
It was here, during their time in Borgia’s court, where Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli would team up, and try to steal a major river. Machiavelli, a spy whose mail was being decoded by Borgia, and da Vinci, who was designing Borgia’s weapons...would attempt the heist of the century.
What river were they planning to steal? Oh, just the most important river in Tuscany; The Arno River. This was the main water supply for both Florence and Pisa. If da Vinci and Machiavelli got their way and diverted the river, Pisa, home of the great leaning tower, would have dried up like old pasta.
So why did these two geniuses have it out for Pisa? What did they have to gain by stealing a river? And why haven’t we all heard about The Artist and The Politician who killed a city, like a couple of Renaissance supervillains? As we’ll find out, it wasn’t for lack of brains, or savvy.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering what the Arno River looks like...you’ve already seen it. The river Machiavelle and da Vinci planned to steal is in the background of da Vinci’s most famous painting; The Mona Lisa. Because da Vinci studied every inch of the Arno while planning their heist.
The Murder That United Them
Like all great heist movies, Machiavelle and da Vinci were first brought together by an unscrupulous third party. Cesare Borgia.
During their time in court, in Sinigallia, the pair witnessed a horrible killing, perpetrated by the son of the pope. Cesare Borgia convinced his disloyal commanders to meet him and reconcile in the town of Sinigallia, promising that he couldn’t complete his war without their leadership. There, at court, during dinner, Borgia had several of his commanders strangled, while others were taken away in cages and murdered at his leisure. This happened in the presence of both da Vinci and Machiavelli, who processed this gruesome event in very different ways.
Leonardo da Vinci became erratic in his behavior, and wrote in his journal that he couldn’t concentrate because he was haunted by the evils of man. He would, for years after, lose focus on his work and flit between projects, thinking about what he had seen.
Niccolò Machiavelli, on the other hand, took Borgia’s cold-bloodedness as a lesson. He would later write that these sorts of evils were necessary to retain political power, and that the ends justified the means. This reaction should have driven a greater wedge between the two collaborators. But both da Vinci and Machiavelli could easily agree on one thing: They were both from Florence, and they both wanted the war between Pisa and Florence to end with Florence on top.
The Prize
Florence and Pisa had a longstanding rivalry, and for hundreds of years the two cities had been involved in wars and land-grabs.
Leonardo was a great water engineer, and had worked to improve the irrigation around Italy. He also possessed a gifted military mind. If he could remove Pisa from the board, a lasting peace would follow. Machiavelli, on the other hand, wanted the Florentine economy to flourish. Redirecting the Arno River would flood new pasturelands around Florence, making both men rich beyond measure. It would also make Machiavelli a political heavyweight. Overally, the river theft would be a win-win-win, for the men, and for their home city.
The Heist
Alas, the great theft wasn’t meant to be. da Vinci’s plans were sound. He did his diligence in the planning, and his designs were impeccable. Machiavelle’s estimations of what the river theft would do for Florence were equally correct. But like most great schemes, the devil was in the details.
Stealing the Arno required the men to tunnel under a mountain, move millions of tons of dirt, and feed 50,000 workers, all while Pisa sent small bands of soldiers out to harass the diggers. This alone, they might have coped with. However, the head engineer, a man named Columbino, didn’t feel it necessary to follow da Vinci’s plans to the letter.
Columbino treated the digging of da Vinci’s trenches with the same seriousness we treat Ikea instructions. He found an easier solution, shrugged, and decided ‘good enough.’
Instead of digging one primary trench, Columbino had his workers dig two shallow trenches, hoping the river would erode them together. He also underestimated how long the digging would take, which led to his men being caught, and attacked, by Pisa’s troops.
Between the failed trench, the attacks, and an unlucky storm, the digging had to be abandoned, and the Arno River got to stay where it was. The great river heist was a failed attempt. But the planning, and the grit required to make the villainous attempt, is no less impressive.
Aftermath
At the end of all great heist movies, we get to see a caption at the bottom of the screen. ‘Where are they now?’
After the failed river heist, what did da Vinci go on to do next? In 1505 Leonardo painted The Battle of Anghiari. AKA “The Lost Leonardo” painting.
After Machiavelle failed to defeat Pisa by drought, he completely gave up on his evil schemes…
Hah! Just kidding. In 1506 he rallied an army of 400 Florentine farmers, gave them iron breastplates, and trained them to fight. Then, in 1509, he took his peasant army and defeated Pisa. This time without the theft of a major geographical feature. Unless you count the city of Pisa itself.
Fun History Links:
https://www.cracked.com/article_19458_the-5-most-badass-teams-famous-people-to-ever-join-forces.html
http://www.thathistorynerd.com/2017/10/the-time-da-vinci-and-machiavelli.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Anghiari_(Leonardo)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_life_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci#Character