Captain Leale Martelli - The Odyssey in the Realms of Time

Leonardo, arrived at Stagno, hired a hunter, a "luparo" (a hunter specialized in wolf hunting) to be taken to the Sambuca. Leonardo represents and indicates the marshy area of the Stagno between Pisa and Livorno also in the map RW 12277 of Windsor: indicated as "bridge to Stagno" in the sheet 305r of the "Atlantic code" and only localized, but without toponym in in the sheets 52v-53r of the "Madrid II code". The hunter accompanied Leonardo da Vinci to his home in Nugola to offer him a hot meal. On that occasion Leonardo represents and indicates the locality of Nugola in one of his drawings and certifies it as a town in the municipality of Collesalvetti. Previously Leonardo had also depicted the city of Livorno in sheet 305r of the "Atlantic code" where he also indicates the "tower" and the "lighthouse". In map RL 12277 defines Livorno as a Pisan port. In the Codex Atlanticus Leonardo represents the sea with a hand-drawn sketch (F. 147 a - r (ex 52 r - b)) of the Atlantic Code. During the visit to Nugola, Leonardo da Vinci was informed by the hunter that in a place near a castle of Nugola there were some Etruscan tombs, but Leonardo did not want to visit them because he was anxious to reach the convent of Sambuca. These Etruscan tombs full of treasures have not yet been plundered, so its treasures are still well preserved. Exactly these Etruscan tombs are located in the Old Nugola area along the road that leads to the castle, under a recently fallen landslide and clearly visible from the road, but this is another story ... But back to Leonardo and his journey to the convent of the Sambuca. The hunter advised to pass through the river Ugione, not far from Nugola. The two went up the river from a place where there is now a military base that serves as a munitions depot for the body of paratroopers. The hunter decided to go up the river Ugione because he considered it safer as regards the attack of brigands, but Leonardo had another type of encounter: he saw a diabolical entity that frightened him so much that he made it back, but also that's another story ...
 
Before continuing with Leonardo da Vinci's journey around the hills of the Inferno Valley, it is useful to specify that at the time of Leonardo, the already named castle of Nugola was almost abandoned and partially collapsed. Around 1600 the last ruins had also disappeared. Currently, where the castle was once located, a villa called villa Traxler stands. Now we describe the Ugione river as it was at the time that Leonardo and the hunter ascended it to reach the convent of Sambuca. The river was much wider. The monks themselves took care to keep the banks well maintained and the riverbed well cleared of debris and obstacles. The monks had also found a golden vein in a hidden place. The golden vein was found in a depression of the river that channeled the waters into a depression that led to the middle of a petrified forest. From this forest the monks took three petrified trunks of the antediluvian era to keep them inside the monastery. On one of these trunks a map indicating the golden vein was carved in bas-relief. These trunks, together with other objects that were part of the furnishings of the monastery, became property of Mrs. Taddeoli, widow Mangani who became the owner of Sambuca and the surrounding land. Together with these objects, Mrs. Taddeoli also kept a strange cup, called "The sacred cup of the Sambuca": a very old chalice dated even before the Medieval era. It is believed that this cup was the faithful reproduction of the ancient chalice that the Templars brought to the Benedetta Valley in 1221, but that's another story ...
Subsequently, all the furnishings, the petrified logs and the "sacred coppas della Sambuca" were donated to the city museum. Among these sacred objects, a very ancient stone lamp from the Etruscan-Roman period aroused much interest by researchers. This stone object had a very particular shape and came from the control cabin of the round ship Fenix which landed in the waters of Livorno.
But let's go back to Leonardo's journey. Led by the hunter, Leonardo began the ascent of the Ugione river (at the time called Uggione) on a cool sunny and cloudless morning. The two met no obstacles and proceeded quickly to the Sambuca monastery. However, not far from the monastery, a thick fog fell on the river bed, enveloping and muffling the whole environment around it. Because of this situation Leonardo lost contact with the hunter who no longer responded to Leonardo's calls, who groped for a few tens of meters, ending up in the river waters up to the height of his knees. He did not know which way to go. Suddenly he thought he saw what appeared to be the entrance to a cave. Leonardo came in convinced that there was no fog inside. As soon as he entered Leonardo realized that it was not a cave, but a man-made stone structure, it looked like a mill, a water mill in the middle of the river. Leonardo intrigued began to examine the mill. Never before had Leonardo seen a mill of that type, equipped with a very original and innovative mechanics. The mill consisted of two rooms, in one of these Leonardo saw a man who worked, surely he must have been the miller since he wore a hood and a bale of cereals on his shoulders. At that point Leonardo turned to the miller and congratulated him for the nice mill. The miller raised his head and Leonardo could see the monstrous face of the miller: deep empty orbits and a mouth that seemed sewn. The eyes were under the throat, they were open and they stared at him without batting an eyelid. Leonardo was petrified by fear, he wanted to get out of the mill and run away, but he felt a force that held him back, he couldn't move. The miller approached Leonardo and said to him: "Lionardo, this is your real name? I like your name, I will call this mill with your name, the mill of Lionardo. I see that you like this mill, but you must know that it still does not exist since it will be built between 100 years and another 100 years yet ...
 
More than a century ago, in the 1800s, some men, historians and scholars of the origins of Livorno, composed some very important reports thanks to their continuous and serious search for ancient writings otherwise lost today. This reports give unequivocal evidences, proofs, about the posted story that we're reading in this forum. Rereading the last post of LD I found out some details that cannot be left out just for historical consistency of the events mentioned:
1) an antediluvian petrified forest - (so it is documented - the forest really exists and two tree trunks are proving this)
2) an old strange cup named "The sacred cup of the Sambuca" (it is well described by the words of the scholar as it dates back to before
the Monks stayed at Sambuca)
3) a very ancient stone lamp dates back to before the medieval age
Below only a little part of what has been collected and kept for many years :

TOURIST

85988601

86028603


85998604

8605
 

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The miller kept turning to a Lionardo da Vinci stunned by terror and repeated these words to him several times: "what you are looking for is not in this place, you will not find it alive, but you could find it dead, I will make sure that your mortal remains have new life in my mirror. At the right moment I will send the one who will take care of taking and reassembling your body, so that I can at least revive your image ". Having said that, the miller disappeared, as did the mill and finally also the fog. To better understand the words of the miller, I recommend rereading some of my posts, exactly that of 2 December 2018, 16 December 2018 and 5 January 2019. Respectively to the current pages 40 - 41 - 42. In fact, it is no coincidence that the Romitone wanted to choose between the battles that the captain and the corporal would have to face to end the challenge, even an event that occurred during the French religious wars, precisely while the battle of Dreux flared up. The captain and the corporal were sent by Romitone to Amboise, just when an angry mob of Huguenot was devastating the chapel of San Fiorentino. The corporal had the audacity to enter the chapel, but that's another story ...
When everything disappeared, miller, mill and fog, everything returned to normal. It was possible to perceive again the flow of the waters of the river and the step of the hunter who seemed not to have noticed anything, indeed he urged Lionardo to continue, saying to him: "master come on, still little and we will have arrived at the monastery, who knows what the monks seeing you will arrive . " Lionardo arrived at the monastery of sambuca in the late morning, the monks invited him to their table, but Lionardo refused the invitation because he was in a hurry to get to Mount la Poggia. At that point the hunter intervened and said to Lionardo: "master you did not eat even last night, you did not eat even a nut, you cannot continue to fast for much longer, in this way you will lack the strength for the return, but Lionardo had no intention to eat because he was anxious to reach Monte la Poggia, to visit the monastery called "Il Conventaccio". For this he asked the monks to accompany him to the Conventaccio in a hurry, but the monks were suspicious of Lionardo's request, they feared that with his knowing and his genius Lionardo could attract the demon of the Poggia, who had long seemed dormant. For this reason the monks unbeknownst to Lionardo, instead of taking him to the Conventaccio decided to take him to the monastery of Montenero, once called mount of the devil. In Montenero there was the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie. The monks with deception managed to divert Lionardo to that monastery by confessing to Lionardo that in some neighboring caves hid a demon. It is said that Lionard found a demon inside those caves that had the same appearance as the miller encountered in the mill. Once again the miller repeated to Lionardo that what he was looking for was not in that place and that there would only find access to the underworld ... However, in the short period spent in Montenero, Lionardo da Vinci had time to register and indicate as "chapel" the sanctuary of the Madonna di Montenero in the RL 12683 map of Windsor and as "Monte Nero" in sheet 305r of the Atlantic code. Over time, the mill of the Ugione river was, as predicted by the miller, built precisely at the point where Lionardo met the miller. Now along that river the remains of that mysterious mill are still visible. A strange feeling is felt in those places. Some of you will experience this sensation when they go to visit that mill, after all it is the Lionardo da Vinci mill ....
 
Lionardo da Vinci, after the experience he had in Montenero, more than frightened, was confused, but also disappointed that he had not received the requested assistance from the local religious. The only help the religious gave was an overnight stay for him and the hunter. The next morning the two walked on the way back, but since the hunter noticed Lionardo's disappointment, he proposed a much longer alternative route through the forest that would take them to the village of Colognole where an ancient pagan people, according to an ancient legend, had built a temple dedicated to water. These people, who lived immediately after the prehistoric era, were worshipers of water, because they believed that water was the expression of a God who manifested himself on earth in liquid form in order to better reach every place, even the bowels of the man, in addition to those of the earth. Legend tells that the water of those places had marked magical-healing properties. To support this legend it must be specified that this water flowed from the mountains called Lecceta and Monte Maggiore. The waters that arise from these hills form a river that descends to the sea. In ancient times this river flowed right near the church of San Jacopo in Acquaviva. Unfortunately, in modern times, the natural river bed has been repeatedly deflected and buried to be able to build roads and build buildings: the current naval academy of Livorno is one of the main buildings involved. Located just behind the ancient church, it incorporated the tunnels that once led to the original source of the Acquaviva. The legend of the water temple has now been almost forgotten, but it was well known until the Middle Ages. In fact, even the Templars landed on the Livorno coast in 1221 later learned of this legend and having already ascertained the healing properties of the spring water of San Jacopo, they decided to verify the reliability of the legend. For this reason they wanted to go up the river called Rio Maggiore from the name of the apostle Giacomo called the "Maggiore" who crossed it in antiquity. A group of knights led by Roberto Martello, called da Volterra, went up the river in search of clues that could validate the legend and lead to the discovery of that lost temple. Legend has it that the Templars really found the temple of water, by that time reduced to ruins, but that's another story ...
A more modern history known by all is that of the famous Leopoldine aqueduct, built right there in the late 1700s. A majestic work that has its foundations resting on the last ruins of the water temple! The construction of the Leopold aqueduct definitively concealed and destroyed the ancient temple of water. During the works, the workers often found remains of buildings of considerable size such as stairways formed by huge stones and these findings made the aqueduct work stop for months, but in the end, in order to complete the aqueduct, it was decided not to interrupt anymore the works and to continue building even over the precious ruins left. Some of these ruins are still hidden by soil and vegetation, a magical vegetation that has safeguarded a part of the ancient temple of water from the inexorable passage of time and from the stupid neglect of man.
 
Leonardo da Vinci, arrived in Colognole, was welcomed and hosted for a day in the estate of the Gualandi family, wealthy landowners in the area. The Gualandi family had the opportunity in the past to meet Lionardo da Vinci, on the occasion of the feast of the patron saint of Florence San Giovanni Battista, an occasion for which Mr. Giorgio Gualandi gave the Saint a 10 pound candle to be paraded during the great procession. Lionardo learned useful information from the Gualandi about the ancient water temple built with the use of a particular gray-green volcanic rock called "gabbroso". The temple was fed by the numerous springs that flowed from the hills above, today called "Poggio Lecceta" and "Monte Maggiore". So that the memory of those places is not lost, I will try to describe what the Gualandi said to Lionardo. We will take a trip to a forgotten past that will soon be re-evaluated. For centuries, the area that separates the Benedetta valley from Colognole has been inhabited by an ancient and mysterious people to whom historians have not yet been able to give a historical-cultural identity. A people that rises in the mists of time which by modern scholars are classified as "Gentile people". Little is known about them, they thrived between the Iron Age and the Etruscan era. It was the Gentiles who built the temple of water. They lived not far from the temple, on a high ground where they had built a pyramid structure in which they had brought together the water that came down from Poggio Lecceta. Over time this pyramidal structure turned into a hill and it is on this hill that the church of the Valle Benedetta still stands. Over time the Gentile people died out, the only remaining nucleus was the one I'm talking about ...
 
Although the Gentile people had survived hidden among those hills, another important civilization was developing and expanding: the Etruscans. The two civilizations came to contend for those territories and the clash became inevitable. This happened when two Etruscan princes, twin brothers, who reigned in a location not far from Colognole, today called Montecalvoli, decided to wage war against the last descendants of the Gentiles. The two Etruscan princes lived on the slopes of Montecalvoli where at the time there was a large Etruscan village bordered and protected by a large city wall. The two princes decided to conquer the temple of water, but first they had to defeat the last Gentile warriors left to preside over the pyramidal structure that was in today's Benedictine Valley. There was a short but intense siege, then a bloody battle which saw the two Etruscan princes perish under a rain of arrows. The two princes were hit almost simultaneously as they wore helmets that were owned only by the Etruscan nobles. Those showy helmets attracted the attention of the Gentile archers who mercilessly struck the two. At the end the Gentiles were defeated and the survivors retreated to a hill, now called "Monte La Poggia". The Etruscans took possession of the pyramid structure and decided to bury the two principles there. Together with the two bodies, the weapons and the two helmets equipped with splendid crests were also buried. These finds were found centuries later, during excavations to plant a vineyard in the area, at the time of Colombino Bassi. But we will talk about this next time .... in detail!
 

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