Leonardo da Vinci's legitimate half-brothers cut him out of their father's estate, and his will still left them money and land

Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 near Vinci, the illegitimate first child of the notary Piero da Vinci and Caterina di Meo Lippi. Piero married four times and had at least 16 legitimate children, the last born after his death. In 2023 historian Carlo Vecce published a document he said showed Caterina was a freed slave^†. Piero died on 9 July 1504, and Leonardo recorded the hour in his notebook. Piero did not name Leonardo as an heir. His legitimate half-brothers argued that his birth excluded him. Leonardo went to court and lost, and the estate was settled without him on 30 April 1506. A second fight followed over the estate of his uncle Francesco, who had left property to Leonardo^†. The dispute with his brothers kept him in Florence in 1507 while Louis XII of France pressed for his return to Milan. On 23 April 1519 Leonardo made his will at Amboise before the notary Guglielmo Boreau. His pupil Francesco Melzi was named executor and received his books, instruments and drawings. Salaì and Battista de Vilanis each received half of a garden outside Milan. His servant Maturina received his clothing. The half-brothers received 400 scudi deposited at Santa Maria Nuova in Florence and his farm at Fiesole. He died at Clos Lucé on 2 May 1519. His tomb at Saint-Florentin in Amboise was wrecked in the Wars of Religion. Bones found in 1874 and attributed to him lie in the Saint-Hubert chapel at Amboise.