Leonardo da Vinci described a parachute with a pyramid-shaped canopy for descending safely from great heights.
He recorded the design around 1485, using a linen canopy stretched over a wooden framework. His notes proposed a structure roughly 12 braccia wide and 12 braccia deep, dimensions intended to create enough drag to slow a person’s fall. The braccio was a historical Italian unit whose exact length varied by location.
Leonardo did not invent the modern fabric parachute, and there is no evidence that he tested his design. The familiar round, flexible parachute developed much later as materials, packing methods, and aviation made controlled descents practical.
In 2000, British adventurer Adrian Nichols constructed and tested a full-scale version based on Leonardo’s drawing. It descended successfully, although Nichols used a modern parachute for the final landing because the wooden structure was not considered suitable for ground impact.