Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century ferry design carries commuters across northern Italy

Commuters crossing the Adda River between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo now travel aboard a hand-operated ferry based on a design sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. According to the Washington Post and the Sun Chronicle, the vessel — dubbed the "Da Vinci Ferry" — offers a five-minute journey that has become a moment of calm in the daily commute across northern Italy.

The ferry operates in Imbersago, a small municipality in Lombardia's Adda valley, where worker Venanzio Lavelli operates the hand-guided cable system that pulls the craft across the water. The design, recovered from Leonardo's notebooks, requires no engine and no fuel — a mechanical simplicity that stands apart from the region's usual relationship with technology and speed.