The exhibition takes place in two spaces: one indoors with audiovisual material and another outdoors, where four of his most famous models are reproduced at full scale
La Caixa’ Foundation and the City Council bring a unique exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci to Benidorm
The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, together with the Councillor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez; the representative of ‘la Caixa’ Foundation in the Valencian Community, Lourdes Toribio; the Business Area Director of CaixaBank in Benidorm, Carlos Colom; and the exhibition advisor, Érika Goyarrola, have presented today ‘Leonardo da Vinci. Observe. Question. Experiment’. The exhibition brings us closer to his figure beyond his genius, focusing on his most essential trait: his insatiable curiosity.
The exhibition is located at the intersection of Europa and Alcoy avenues. It can be visited from tomorrow, Wednesday, until March 25, completely free of charge. However, it is necessary to make a reservation in advance through the website CaixaForum.org or at the exhibition space itself. With the organisation of this project, the ”la Caixa” Foundation and the Benidorm City Council are joining in the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), through an installation that takes place in two spaces: one inside, where the visitor can see an audiovisual show that connects Leonardo’s thought with our daily lives; and another outside, where there are four large models that faithfully reproduce some of Leonardo’s most modern and premonitory ideas, such as the ‘Aerial Screw’, the ‘Vitruvian Man’, the ‘Flying Machine’ and the ‘Paddle Boat’.
During the presentation, Mayor Toni Pérez stressed that the approach and content of this exhibition, together with its location “almost on the beachfront”, will encourage “many residents and tourists, and especially educational centres, to visit it”. He also stressed the “value” of this exhibition “at a time when science and research, talent, are taking on a relevance that they never stopped having but that was possibly never as recognised as now”.
The mayor praised the figure of Leonardo da Vinci, who he said “was misunderstood in his time, because sometimes those who are visionaries, those who express their talent, have to face this misunderstanding”, something that, in the opinion of the mayor, “is what has happened for a long time to Benidorm as well, that there are those who criticise it without knowing it, but in the end, through commitment, effort, work, the good ends up prevailing”.
Toni Pérez has considered it “a real privilege” to be the only city in the province of Alicante and Murcia that will host this exhibition during 2025 and has thanked the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation “for always counting on Benidorm for this type of activities that generate knowledge and culture, putting people at the centre, just as Leonardo did in his day”.
For his part, the Councillor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez, has thanked the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation for its “close and fruitful collaboration” with the Benidorm City Council, which “translates every year into the exhibition in Benidorm of an informative exhibition on artistic, scientific or social aspects”.
The councillor has highlighted that the exhibition “focuses on one of the most versatile and interesting figures in the history of Humanity; a curious, brilliant and clear mind, that of Leonardo da Vinci, whose thought, five centuries later, is still relevant and awakens the interest of the general public and also of experts from very diverse disciplines" and has stated that "to delve deeper into the informative and pedagogical aspect, all the educational centres in Benidorm have been offered the possibility of visiting the exhibition through guided tours that will be available to the school community and also to other groups" in the city.
Both Lourdes Toribio, the delegate of the 'la Caixa' Foundation in the Valencian Community, and Carlos Colom, the director of the Business Area of CaixaBank in Benidorm, have thanked the collaboration of the Benidorm City Council and highlighted that "bringing culture closer to society is a fundamental axis for equal opportunities." Hence, this organisation is committed to promoting exhibitions "close to the street and the people."
More information about the exhibition
‘La Caixa’ Foundation works to bring culture and knowledge to audiences of all ages and educational levels. Among its cultural activities, it organises numerous travelling exhibitions to contribute to raising public awareness through artistic, scientific and social content. In addition, with its Art in the Street programme, the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation aims to turn public spaces into open-air museums. Now, in collaboration with Benidorm City Council and the Château du Clos Lucé - Parc Leonardo da Vinci, are presenting a project that goes beyond a simple exhibition. Understood as an experience for visitors, it combines audiovisual spectacle, the display of full-scale models on the street, games and augmented reality, to connect one of the most brilliant minds in the history of humanity with our daily lives.
Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, draughtsman, engineer, architect, urban planner, naturalist, anatomist, musician, philosopher and inventor; a true polymath whose ideas remain, five hundred years later, modern and premonitory. He came to knowledge in a different way to that of his contemporaries, because he did so through a method based on observation, experimentation and analogy that questioned immutable theories and learned ideas. Now, ‘Leonardo da Vinci. Observe. Question. Experiment’ aims to connect that same Da Vinci work methodology with our daily lives, through a contemporary language that is close to the youngest public, with the ultimate goal of stimulating creativity and fostering curiosity.
This Foundation “has worked two and a half years on the project before its presentation to the public, with a multidisciplinary team made up of experts in Leonardo da Vinci, architects, engineers, scriptwriters, audiovisual producers and specialists in design, multimedia game programming and augmented reality”. All of this is to offer the viewer a “surprising experience”, in which they will find interactive games to understand Leonardo’s way of thinking, full-scale models of some of his drawings and models, built with current materials; as well as an area of augmented reality through an app that allows you to scan QR codes to see what these same models would look like built with materials from the time and how their movements would have been as Da Vinci imagined them.
The opening hours for this exhibition are: Monday to Friday, from 12:30 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00; and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00. Guided tours for school groups and other groups can also be arranged from Monday to Friday, from 9.30 to 12.30 and from 15 to 17 hours, by appointment by calling 900 801 137. Guided tours are also offered for the general public, lasting one hour, both in Spanish – Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 19.15 hours; and Saturdays and holidays, at 12.30 hours – and in Valencian, which will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 19.15 hours and on Sundays at 12.30 hours.
Likewise, the times of the passes for the general public (30 minutes) in Spanish are from Monday to Friday at 12.45, 17, 19.15 and 20.15 hours; and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at 11, 12.30, 17, 19.15 and 20.15. Meanwhile, the passes for the general public (30 minutes) in Valencian are from Monday to Friday at 13.30, 17.45 and 18.30; and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at 11.45, 13.30, 17.45 and 18.30. Capacity is limited and tickets can be reserved on the CaixaForum.org website as well as at the exhibition space itself.
