Leonardo da Vinci designed cranes that used drums, ropes, and gearing to lift heavy loads.
His notebooks contain several lifting-machine studies. In these designs, a worker turned a handle or treadle, rotating a drum or winding mechanism. Rope wrapped around the drum, converting the operator’s effort into controlled vertical movement. Some arrangements used gears or pulleys to improve lifting and handling.
Leonardo’s cranes belong to a long tradition of hoisting technology rather than representing one single standardized machine. Ancient and medieval builders already used cranes, winches, and treadwheels. Leonardo’s importance comes from the precision of his drawings and his systematic analysis of mechanical advantage.
A crane is not the same as a catapult or trebuchet, which launch projectiles. Nor is every Leonardo lifting sketch a crane in the modern construction-site sense. The common feature is controlled lifting of a load with a boom, rope, drum, or related mechanism.