Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, later known as Leonardo da Vinci, was born on April 15, 1452, in or near Vinci, Republic of Florence. He was the illegitimate son of Piero da Vinci, a Florentine notary, and Caterina di Meo Lippi, a lower-class woman. The exact location of his birth is debated, with Anchiano being a traditionally cited possibility. This event marks the beginning of the life of one of the most diversely talented individuals in history, a figure who would come to embody the Renaissance ideal.