Time to roar! Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical lion goes on display in Paris

A mechanical lion that has been recreated 500 years after its invention by Leonardo da Vinci, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris. Photo: AFP

Leonardo da Vinci's famous mechanical lion on went on display recently at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris for a month, in a tribute to the Renaissance master 500 years after his death.

The lion, which is 2m high by 3m long and made of wood with a metal mechanism, is a reconstruction based on a rudimentary sketch left by da Vinci. The original automaton, long since lost, was designed by da Vinci on a commission from Pope Leo X to amuse French king Francois I.