The enginner: Da Vinci designed many working machines for war , industry , and transport . He sketched very accurate maps and he also designed a brillant canal system for Florence , and a huge bridge . In 2001 architects constructed a bridge in Norway based on da Vinci's design . You can see it there today. The painter : as a young man , da vinci studied painting in Florence . Two of his paintigns, the mona lisa ( or la gioconda ) and the lost supper , are among the most famous paintings of all time ! Today only about 15 of his finished paintings survive ( he often didn 't finish them because he was busy with other things) but most people consider him to be one of the greatest painters who ever lived. The Inventor : Da Vinci 's notebooks conntain detailes sketches for a whole range of invebtions which were centuries ahead of their time. These include a sort of helicopter , flying machines , a coclulator , a parachute and wven robots > With today ' s technology , and materials many of da Vinci ' s designs could work very well. The Scientist: Da Vinci studied plants , animals and the humon body , and made detailed drawings and notes about them . He used "mirror" writing, probably becouse ge didn' t want everyone to understand te notes ! His sketch Vitruvian mam show the perfect proportions of the human body . This is possibly the best - known drawing in the world