Leonardo drawing to visit Washington

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Leonardo da Vinci's preliminary drawing for the painting, "Adoration of the Magi," will leave Italy for the first time for a limited display in Washington.

The drawing will be on exhibit at the Library of Congress for two days only -- Dec. 7-8.

The exhibit is sponsored by Finmeccanica, Italy's largest aerospace and defense company. In a news release, the Rome company said it would be hosting a gala reception in celebration of the event.

Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chairman and chief executive officer, said: "Da Vinci is a true kindred spirit of Finmeccanica. He was an artist-engineer: a painter, a sculptor, and a designer of technologies of the future."

The actual 1481 "Adoration of the Magi" is one of Leonardo's earliest major works and has a prize in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence since the 17th century.