Leonardo da Vinci designed cranes for lifting and moving heavy loads at construction sites.
His notebooks contain several lifting machines that combine booms, ropes, pulleys, gears, and counterweights. Some designs could rotate, allowing a load to be raised and then moved horizontally. These mechanisms were intended to reduce the labor required to handle materials such as stone and timber.
A crane is a complete lifting machine, whereas a pulley is only one component that changes the direction or mechanical advantage of a rope. Leonardo’s designs also differ from a simple hoist because they address positioning and movement as well as vertical lifting.
Leonardo’s construction studies grew from his work on architecture, fortifications, canals, and large building projects. They demonstrate his habit of applying mechanical principles to everyday engineering problems. The drawings are valuable even when the exact machines were never constructed.