Some thoughts stay with us for centuries. This printable Italian cryptogram hides a famous quote by Leonardo da Vinci behind a simple letter-and-number code. In Italian, a memorable quote like this is often called an aforisma.
At first, the puzzle may look like a random collection of numbers, but each letter you uncover brings the whole thought into focus. Try to work out not only the missing letters, but also what Leonardo is saying about painting and poetry before checking the solution.
You can use the optional hints if you need a little help, or challenge yourself to solve the entire puzzle unaided.
Divertiti! 😊
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was an Italian artist, inventor and thinker, and one of the most remarkable figures of the Renaissance. His best-known works include La Gioconda (the Mona Lisa) and L'Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), but painting was only one part of his extraordinary life.
Here are five things you might not know about the man behind the quote.
War machines
He worked as a military engineer, sketching tanks, giant crossbows and siege weapons for the rulers who employed him.
A dream of flight
His notebooks contain detailed sketches for flying machines, including an ornithopter designed to flap like a bird, inspired by years of studying birds in motion.
Mirror writing
Many of his notebooks are written in mirror writing, from right to left. Historians still debate why, although being left-handed may have made it more natural for him.
Anatomy
His remarkably detailed anatomical drawings, still studied today, came from dissections he carried out personally to understand how the human body worked.
His final years in France
He entered the service of King Francis I and spent his final years in France, where he died in 1519.
Leonardo builds his thought around a beautifully simple reversal:
La pittura… si vede e non si sente.
Painting… is seen and not heard.
La poesia… si sente e non si vede.
Poetry… is heard and not seen.
Two verbs, vedere and sentire, hold the whole idea together.
Vedere is fairly straightforward: it means "to see".
Vedo le montagne dalla finestra.
I can see the mountains from the window.
Sentire, though, is a little more interesting. In Leonardo's quote, si sente refers to something you hear, but sentire is one of those wonderfully flexible Italian verbs whose meaning changes with the context.
Sento la musica.
I can hear the music.
Sento freddo.
I feel cold.
Sento un profumo di caffè.
I can smell coffee.
Ci sentiamo domani.
We'll speak tomorrow.
So while English moves between "hear", "feel", "smell" and even "speak", Italian often reaches for the same versatile verb: sentire.
From painting to poetry
Leonardo described painting as poetry you can see, and poetry as painting you can hear. So perhaps it's only fitting that our next quote comes from a poet.
If you'd like another challenge, try this interactive online cryptogram featuring a quote by Ugo Foscolo.
