Domed basilica in plan and elevation; a naval war scythe
A centrally-planned church with four corner domes, and a great blade for cutting ships' rigging
The upper part of the sheet pairs a bird's-eye view of a centrally-planned domed church with its ground plan: an octagonal core is ringed by four subsidiary domed towers (tiburi) over a long aisled nave. Leonardo notes that the building is inhabited both above and below, one climbing the bell-towers to a parapeted platform on which the four tiburi stand, wholly separate from the church interior. Below, a large curved blade, a scythe for naval warfare eight braccia long, is drawn to be dragged by two cortaldi against the rigging of enemy ships.
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Centrally-planned domed church, inhabited above and below
A centrally-planned church is shown both in bird's-eye view and in ground plan: an octagonal domed core is ringed by four subsidiary domed towers over a long aisled nave. Leonardo notes the building is inhabited above and below, one climbing by the bell-towers onto a parapeted platform on which the four tiburi stand. None of these domed towers opens into the church interior; they are wholly separate.
Great scythe for cutting ships' rigging
A great curved blade, a scythe for naval warfare, is specified as eight braccia long, half a braccio at its widest, and a finger thick along the back. It is to be drawn by two cortaldi against the rigging-ropes of enemy ships. Leonardo calls it a perfect method, provided the fire is given all at one time, for otherwise it would come to nothing.