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In the mid-fifteenth century, the Verrocchio family had owned a house near Santa Croce. Here Andrea del Verrocchio lived: in the close vicinity was his shop, in which Leonardo too worked, his presence being documented at least in 1476. At a later time, he rented a shop near the Cathedral.
The lion menagerie was situated behind Palazzo Vecchio, in today's Via del Leone: Leonardo recalls it in two folios. The drawing of a lion is found again in a famous rebus in which Leonardo played on his own name. It is worth mentioning also the mechanical lion, an automaton that moved up to open its chest, created by Leonardo for the king of France and the Florentine community in Lyon.
Just outside Florence, along Via Santa Margherita a Montici, we find what was the Villa Tovaglia. On August 11, 1500 Francesco Malatesta sent from Florence to Francesco II Gonzaga, at the latter's request, a drawing of the villa done by Leonardo, as a project for replicating it. In effect, the architecture of this building complex, in spite of the discontinuity due to remodelling and additions, is remarkable. It is interesting to note that Bartolomeo del Tovaglia was one of the bankers recorded by Leonardo in a memorandum in the Codex Atlanticus as one of his correspondents from France and Flanders.
Nephew of Leonardo da Vinci, Pierino da Vinci was a sculptor who drew inspiration especially from Michelangelo. You can see some of his works in Pisa and especially in Florence, preserved in numerous museums and gardens. Several sculptures by Pierino have long been referred to Buonarroti himself. Some of his works are in Pisa but most are in Florence, preserved in numerous museums and gardens. Several sculptures by Pierino have long been attributed to Buonarroti himself.