Q&A: What to expect from Pueblo’s upcoming Leonardo da Vinci Museum

Joe Arrigo: I have lived in Pueblo all my life, and my professional training is in education, so I have been very interested in ways we could make Pueblo a better place through education. And really, I wanted to give youngsters exposure to the best education possible.

Nearly five years ago now, I happened to be on vacation in Amboise, France which happens to be where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last few years of life at the invitation of King Francois the First.

I went to da Vinci’s home and saw his workshops and was just amazed at the genius of this man, and that never left me. 

About a year later, I was serving on the Sangre de Cristo Art Center Board, and we were trying to prepare for the 50th anniversary of the Art Center. I recognized this as a possibility to have the traveling exhibit of da Vinci’s machines and robotics in Pueblo, and the board liked it, so that was the beginning of a relationship with the Artisans of Florence, who we contracted for their traveling Leonardo da Vinci exhibit.

After their exhibit, they talked about expanding one of their da Vinci museums to North America. We [in Pueblo] were relatively close to an international airport, we could store their exhibits and materials, the climate was perfect, and so we began conversations to have the first permanent exhibit in the United States.

JA: There will be elements of history included. Our intention is to have facsimiles of every single thing that we know Leonardo da Vinci put down on paper, an entire library of what is known, which alone will be something that can be used for academics and research. 

But more than history, what we need to do, and what we intend to do, is to ignite the curiosity of young people in particular to explore, to develop creative thinking skills and problem solving-skills that we hope will lead to the next generation of innovators in science and technology and engineering. 

[The museum] is not just da Vinci. We will have things like maker spaces, virtual reality exhibits and rotating exhibits that will encourage young visitors to visit into the future.

JA: We intend to emphasize everything that’s contemporary to us right now in Pueblo: issues in agriculture, transportation, energy. These are all things that da Vinci worked on as well with his anatomical illustrations and his innovations in transporting water and his books of inventions.

We want exhibits that encourage [younger generations] to go into science and technology and healthcare, and then take these things to improve our community in many positive ways. 

The museum will bring tourism and more activity to the community as well, and then in a few years, I think we will begin to see the benefits of what we’re trying to create. 

I’m an octogenarian, so my hope with this is that it will go well beyond my time on this Earth and that it will literally create the next generation of innovators and problem solvers for Pueblo.

JA: We took a number of the exhibits we had in storage and displayed them at the Ellie Caulkins Theater in Denver and had the wonderful opportunity of spending a few minutes with Ken Burns. He just lit up when he learned about the first permanent exhibit of da Vinci being in Pueblo, and frankly we’re hoping that when he comes through Colorado for film festivals, he can stop by and be a part of the opening.

JA: We have spent the last two years trying to lease the building, and ultimately on Thursday [February 20] we got approval from the Colorado Economic Development Commission, who had funded the original creation of the building, so we needed to approve our occupancy. 

Now that we have that done, we’re excited at the possibility of opening by late fall of 2025, and that will include the museum as well as a gift shop and the outdoor Cafe Leonardo.