Leonardo da Vinci’s pyramid-shaped fabric canopy was a parachute design.
In a manuscript sketch, Leonardo proposed a large linen canopy supported by wooden poles. He wrote that a person could jump from a height while protected by the device, describing a structure roughly twelve braccia wide and twelve braccia deep. The design is commonly recognized as an early parachute concept.
Leonardo’s parachute was never tested by him, and its exact behavior cannot be known with complete certainty from the drawing alone. Modern tests of reconstructions have shown that the design can generate drag, although the rigid frame and weight make it unlike a modern sport parachute.
The parachute idea should not be confused with Leonardo’s flying machines. A parachute is intended to slow a descent, not to provide powered forward flight. Practical parachutes developed much later, particularly after advances in lightweight fabric and reliable suspension systems.