Rebounding water jets, an Arno distance, and a list of reminders
Two water-jet diagrams; a distance measured along the Arno; a numbered memoranda column
Folio 1r opens with a right-hand column of seven numbered reminders — names, places and small tasks — and, at the left, a measured distance taken along the Arno in Florence: 7400 braccia (2 miles and 1400 braccia) between two river walls where the mills stand, with a further 5500 braccia beyond the river. Below, two small diagrams show jets of water, illustrating a note that water falling vertically onto a flat surface leaps back up, crosses itself, passes outside, and falls again. The page thus mixes memoranda, a survey measurement, and a study of falling water.
On this page
Water falling and rebounding on a flat plane
Water that falls in a pyramid-shaped stream straight down onto a perfectly flat surface leaps back upward, its point rising toward the base of that pyramid. The streams then cross one another, pass outside, and fall away below. Two small diagrams beside the note show the paired jets rising and dividing.
Distance measured along the Arno
From the Arno wall of the Giustizia to the embankment of Sardigna, where the mills stand, the note records 7400 braccia — two miles and 1400 braccia. Beyond the Arno it adds a further 5500 braccia. It reads as a linear survey of the riverside.
Numbered list of reminders
A short numbered column lists people, places and errands: Ambrosio Preti, Santo Marco, a board for the window, Guaspari Strame, the saints of the chapel, and Casale Genovese, together with an entry read as Oquria. The numbers appear to set an order among them.