What device did Leonardo da Vinci sketch as an early parachute design?

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a pyramidal parachute as an early parachute design.

Around 1485, Leonardo described a framework covered with linen that would allow a person to descend safely from a height. His drawing shows a pyramid-shaped canopy supported by poles, with the person suspended beneath it. The concept appears in the Codex Atlanticus, a large collection of his notes and drawings.

Leonardo did not build or test the device, so it was a design rather than a demonstrated invention. The sketch is nevertheless important because it applies a clear aerodynamic idea: increasing air resistance can slow a falling body. Modern parachutes usually use flexible, curved canopies rather than rigid pyramidal frames. In 2000, British skydiver Adrian Nicholas tested a full-scale reconstruction and reported that it could descend successfully, although it was difficult to control. Leonardo's design is often called the first known parachute concept, not the first operational parachute.