“While in Milan in 1507, Leonardo met a fourteen-year-old named Francesco Melzi Leonardo was then fifty-five, and he had no son or heir. Young Francesco was an aspiring artist, pretty in the slightly soft way of Salai,later. Leonardo became a mix of legal guardian, godfather, adoptive father, teacher, and employer of the young Melzi. Years later, the biographer Vasari got to know Melzi and wrote that he “was a very beautiful boy [bellissimo fanciullo] and much loved by [molto amato da] Leonardo.” Those are similar to the words Vasari wrote of Salai, but it is unclear whether in this case there was any romantic or sexual relationship. I doubt there was. It is unlikely that Melzi’s father would have given him over to Leonardo for such an association, and we know that after Leonardo’s death Melzi married a prominent noblewoman and had eight children. in 1508, that the dictated note mentioned earlier appeared in one of his notebooks: “Salai, I want peace, not war. No more wars, I give in.”11 Whether or not Melzi was ever a lover, he became something more significant. Leonardo loved him as a son, and he needed a son to love. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 387). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 387). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 386). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 386). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 385-386). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 385). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 385). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
