We might as well get the cliches out of the way: Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius of unparalleled stature. During the course of his life, he created some of the greatest paintings of his (and any other) age, as well as inventing machines and recording anatomical observations that wouldn’t be surpassed for centuries.

However, we often overlook the some of the strange, exciting and even lurid details of his life – a life that we can trace across Italy and beyond. With the 500th anniversary if his death approaching on May 2nd, what better time to explore the life of one of Italy’s greatest geniuses?