Campus life [2025-09-22]

From Leonardo to Copernicus

— Editors

On 15 and 16 September, the Nicolaus Copernicus University hosted a delegation from Vinci. The visit is the result of cooperation that Toruń has been developing with the Italian city since last year.

The cooperation between Toruń – the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus – and Vinci, a town of several thousand inhabitants in Tuscany, where Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452, is based on a creative vision that the two great scholars could have met and exchanged ideas and inspirations. Their meeting takes place in the pages of the novel Ostrakon, published in 2024 by Krzysztof P. Czyżewski, a lawyer and writer, as well as a graduate and Ambassador of the Nicolaus Copernicus University. The story, which combines elements of crime fiction, historical literature, adventure and conspiracy theories, recalls the story of the mysterious meeting between Leonardo da Vinci and Nicolaus Copernicus, placing it in the context of Renaissance mysteries.

During their September visit to Toruń, representatives of Vinci also visited the Nicolaus Copernicus University. The delegation, consisting of Clarissa Pasquali, councillor of the city of Vinci; Sara Taglialagamba, director of Nuova Fondazione Carlo e Rossana Pedretti; Silvano Guerrini, president of the Le Vie di Leonardo Da Vinci Association, and Fabio Troisi, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, visited the university campus and the Centre for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. The guests also had the opportunity to see the Nicolaus Copernicus University Astronomical Observatory in Piwnice and its most famous instrument – a 32-metre radio telescope, the largest in Central and Eastern Europe.

Representatives of Vinci also took part in the award ceremony for the art competition for children and young people entitled 'Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus – a meeting of two geniuses', organised by the City of Toruń and the Gallery and Centre for Children's Artistic Creativity. The award ceremony took place on 16 September at the Baj Pomorski Theatre. During the event, the University was represented by dr habil. Joanna Kucharzewska, NCU Prof. and Vice-Rector for Promotion and Cooperation with Social and Business Environment.

The project was aimed at children and young people aged 6–18 from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. The submitted works (nearly 750 in total) were evaluated in four age categories: 6–8 years, 9–12 years, 13–15 years, and 16–18 years, with a total of 60 prizes awarded.

The post-competition exhibition can be viewed until 13 October at the headquarters of the Gallery and Centre for Children's Artistic Creativity at 17 Nowomiejski Rynek in Toruń.

The aim of the cooperation between Toruń and Vinci is to strengthen the recognition and cultural and tourist potential of both cities, as well as to create opportunities for mutual learning about cultural heritage and exchange of experiences.