Humble or inspire yourself with a digital copy of the real Da Vinci Code on your iPad.
Leonardo’s war machines from the 1,000-plus-page Codex Atlanticus are now available for your perusal.
There are a ton of Da Vinci-related apps, but this one, officially called “The Ultimate Codex Experience,” is worth shelling out the $9.99 for because it’s the work of Italian publisher DeAgostini, which holds the copyright to the Codex safeguarded at Milan’s Bibloteca Ambrosiana.
Which, if you happen to visit the Italian city, a rotating exhibit puts on show for the first time in generations until 2015. Barring a trip to Milano, the next best thing is to view it on your iPad.
The app’s material comes from the “Fortresses, Bastions and Canons” exhibit, which I saw back in 2009. Because the live exhibits show 25 pages of the tome at a time, changing every three months or so, you’ll only be able to see these pages on your iPad.
It’ll give you a close-up view of how da Vinci worked — from notes written in his characteristic right-to-left mirror script and the app offers a “innovative virtual instrument” that lets you read it more easily.
While the subject matter may incite more mild interest than awe, the modernity of his 500-plus-year-old ideas is still striking: A tall contraption that moves weights would not look out of place as a resistance machine in a gym.
And, unlike in Milan, audio explanations are provided in Italian, English, French and Japanese.
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
