Leonardo da Vinci makes historic first flight

Last night the self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci took a flight for the first time in history, after receiving approval from Italian authorities. Leonardo da Vinci (the so-called Lucanian Portrait) travelled the airBaltic route from Rome via Riga to Tallinn, accompanied by a group of scientists, art historians and officials.

Professor Felice Festa, researcher of the Leonardo da Vinci portrait said “Leonardo da Vinci has made his historic first flight on airBaltic.”

Professor Felice Festa verified the authenticity of the portrait using his festa2face method only a year ago, to generate proof that the Lucanian portrait is a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. This is the only known painted self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci as a young man.

The portrait made its first flight on airBaltic via Riga to an exhibition in Estonia, more than 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci sketched the designs of his flying machines.