1506, Caterina da Cremona (Matilda De Angelis), Leonardo (Aidan Turner) closest friend is dead.  

Stefano Giraldi (Freddie Highmore) is dealing with the case by order of the Mayor of Milan, but the truth is far from revealed…now Leonardo is young, he is in Florence at Verrocchio (Giancarlo Giannini) studio.

Two timelines with a single denominator: the search for truth; by Stefano Giraldi in one line and by Leonardo, through his art, in the other one. In both, Leonardo’s inability to lie, even when it’s the best and only thing to do.

Leonardo’s life is a mystery, so Rai Fiction, after the huge success of Medici: Masters of Florence, decided to make it a crime, looking for that international taste so beloved to co-productions (in this case Rai Fiction and France Télévision).

The problem is that it’s hard to understand their real goal: the first two episodes are far from the Medici trilogy’s historic realism, but no so far as Da Vinci’s Demons’ series. Leonardo is a dangerous mix especially for school-edged kids who are going to make a lot of mistakes in their future tests. Thing is, we know sometimes TV needs some creative license… but why use some truly unnecessary ones like the last one, in the fourth episode with Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s death?!?!

Luckily, a lot of people have been deeply displeased by this historic tumble; something so strange for a precise writer as Frank Spotnitz (see Medici trilogy as writer or Devils as consulting producer). Another massive mistake that made the audience furious is that they omitted the letter in which, through 12 points in which he listed his abilities, Leonardo, at the suggestion of Lorenzo the Magnificent, had asked Ludovico the Moor (James D’Arcy) to be hired… basically the first resume in history. Another one is when Leonardo painted Ginevra de’ Benci (Poppy Gilbert), her father was already dead and she was married to Luigi Niccolini (William Michael Roberts)for at least a year. Last but not least, speaking of the golden sphere, the Verrocchio refers to the weight indicating it in tons, a unit of measurement then unknown.

On the other hand, fortunately, the series key pillar is Leonardo‘s work; a painting for each of the eight episodes reproduced by Stefano Barnabei; beginning with Ginevra de’ Benci portrait and Adoration of the Magi in the first two episodes.

We look forward to seeing those paintings that will come, hoping for greater attention to their stories.