Aidan Turner da Vinci series Leonardo wraps filming

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The Poldark actor leads the cast of the new show…

The life of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci is set to be explored in a new TV series called Leonardo, which has now wrapped filming after becoming one of the first projects to restart production during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Deadline, it was no mean feat. Anyone entering the studio “had to undergo swab tests, pass daily through a corridor where they were sprayed with a disinfectant vapour, have their temperature taken twice a day, wear face masks and gloves, and respect social distancing.” Props were also bathed in ultra-violet light overnight to sanitise them.

The show, which will bow in 2021, stars Aidan Turner (Poldark) as da Vinci, and the plot will follow the painter “learning his craft as a young apprentice and then reaching for greatness with his commission to paint The Last Supper” in the upcoming project.

Created by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files) and Steve Thompson (Sherlock), and directed by Daniel Percival (The Man in the High Castle) and Alexis Sweet (Don Matteo), Leonardo also stars Giancarlo Giannini (Catch 22) as his master Andrea del Verrocchio, Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) as Caterina da Cremona, “his dearest friend and mysterious muse” and Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor) as Stefano Giraldi, “a young detective of the Podestà in charge of solving the mystery at the centre of the story.”

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“We’re proud to see so many talented people from different countries working together on a project that explores the life, the mystery and the genius of Leonardo da Vinci,” Eleonora Andreatta, head of drama at Rai, said in a statement.

Luca Bernabei, producer and CEO of Lux Vide, added: “Leonardo’s story invites us to believe in humanity, in its extraordinary abilities and the possibility of looking to the future beyond those horizons that today appear as overwhelming obstacles; as a very modern genius like Leonardo Da Vinci would do. From Italy to the world, (it is) a message of hope and a model of rebirth that, we feel in this moment, (is) even more relevant.”

More soon.