We all know that Leonardo da Vinci revolutionized painting and engineering in the Renaissance Italy of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. But did you know that he invented a machine that manufactured gold sequins for women's dresses? Visit the Leonardo museum (created by the Santa Monica, California-based access provider and Web publisher Leonardo Internet) and you can take a look at this machine and a bunch of other well-known and not-so-well-known Leonardo creations. The museum is divided into four wings: East for oil paintings, West for engineering designs, North for anatomical sketches and unfinished works, and South for biographical information. The collection of paintings, including Adoration of the Magi, The Last Supper, and other works from the Louvre and Florence's Galleria degli Uffizi, presents a healthy though familiar selection. Better yet, check out the West Wing for a look at the engineering designs. The drawings here translate better to the computer screen than do the oil paintings, and it's a lot more interesting to learn about Leonardo's inventions, such as the machine gun or his rudimentary helicopter, than it is to look at a grainy GIF image of the Mona Lisa. The South Wing's biographical essay tracing Leonardo's travels through the politically unstable worlds of 15th-century Florence, Milan, Venice, and Rome is a decent summary, but those looking for details on his personal and artistic life will need to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, Renaissance enthusiasts and art historians alike will find plenty to enjoy at this well-designed site. (11/1/95)