Painter, writer, inventor, sculptor, musician – Leonardo da Vinci was one of Italy’s original Renaissance men. In fact, the idea of the “Renaissance man” was developed during the very time in which he lived. As one of the foremost intellects of world history, his brilliance survives today in artwork, statues and notebooks found throughout Italy and beyond.

For all his fame, da Vinci remains a bit of an enigma. He didn’t leave a lot of finished works and early biographical details are scant. What we do know about him paints a picture of immense genius – one of the most prolific minds of his day, if not always one of the most focused. There is a lot that we’ll never know about Leonardo da Vinci, but here are a few of the more interesting things that we do know.