Meet the man who brought da Vinci’s drawings to the Powerhouse Parramatta

With his clerical collar, black blazer and sunglasses, Monsignor Alberto Rocca cuts an imposing figure as he walks past the stark white of the Powerhouse Parramatta’s steel exoskeleton.

And he should. Rocca holds a lot of power: he’s the gatekeeper of the Codex Atlanticus, a collection of 1119 pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks dating from 1478 to 1519, and the man responsible for delivering a small selection of the artist’s drawings from Milan to western Sydney.

Standing in the dimly lit room that houses the drawings, Rocca explained just what it takes to move the pages – which are so delicate, each page can only be displayed for three months at a time – safely to the other side of the world.

“When you transfer important masterpieces you have a codified method, which is international,” he said.

The works are sealed in Milan in clima frames, a specialised, protective framing system that controls humidity, before they are placed in special crates to help keep the temperature low while they are on a plane. When the drawings arrived in Parramatta, Rocca said they were placed in showcases that have technology to allow for the temperature and light to continue to be controlled.

“Light is very dangerous for drawings,” he said. “If you have some paper in your house and you put it under the sun for two days, it fades.”

While he’s explaining the importance of protecting the drawings from light, a news crew with a camera light on walks in, illuminating the dark room. He stops speaking and frowns, saying “this is very bad”. He looks relieved when they leave.

The papers are part of Task Eternal, the museum’s flagship exhibition that unpacks humanity’s fascination with stars, flight and space. The da Vinci drawings of flying machines were transferred from Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana – an institution that’s more than 400 years old. Rocca is director of the library’s art gallery.

It’s a strong contrast to the newly opened Powerhouse Parramatta, which the Catholic priest praises for its design and large exhibition space. Although he’s been to Sydney before, it’s his first time visiting Parramatta, and he said it was a nice feeling to see the drawings on display in a new environment.

“When we have da Vinci and we have great masterpieces, they are world patrimony, and so for us to be here, it is also a way to share and to make also people in Parramatta to understand that they are part of this history,” he said.

“So it’s very nice to share, and it’s also very nice to share in a context which is culturally different, and also difference is very important because difference allows you to understand aspects you never thought of.”