Milan museum unveils Leonardo da Vinci cooling machine

(ANSA) - Milan, July 9 - A prototype of a cooling machine designed by Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci was presented at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan on Thursday. The machine, which records show Da Vinci invented around 1492, employs a bellows with multiple nozzles to concentrate cold air on a pitcher and keep its contents such as drinks or sorbets cool. Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci, said the inventor used to organise banquets for Italian noble families which would include fountain machines involving water and snow. "There's no reason to rule out the possibility that this machine was also built in his laboratory," Vezzosi said. It will be on display at the museum for the remaining duration of the Expo 2015 world fair in Milan, which runs until the end of October. Visitors will be able to compare it to the ice cream machines of Italian company Sammontana which will also be on display in the same exhibition.