2) An ambitious man and cousin to the Duke of Florence, Piero keeps a close eye on all happenings in Florence, especially those that concern his son Lorenzo and his friends. He heads the mysterious secret society, the Luminari. Maestro Verrocchio played by James Cuningham Leo and Tom's maestro, Verrocchio is very strict and becomes impatient if his apprentices waste time. Leonardo is very loyal to his Maestro. Cosimo played by Thembalethu Ntuli A servant at Verrocchio's workshop Teresa de' Medici played by Camilla Waldman Lorenzo's doting mother Placidi played by Bart Fouche Head of Security at the Medici Palace and Piero's right-hand man in series 2 Angelica Visconti played by Roxane Hayward The rich and beautiful daughter of the wealthy Visconti family and Lorenzo's fiancée in series 2 Rocco de' Medici played by Clayton Boyd The hot-headed long-lost son of the Duke of Florence in series 2 Production Leonardo began as a novel outline by Tom Mason and Dan Danko portraying Leonardo da Vinci as a "teenage Renaissance Batman". Although never actually used in a book, Mason and Danko were able to interest the BBC in their unpublished story idea. It was optioned by the BBC in late 2009 and the pre-production was completed by summer 2010. The first series of Leonardo was shot on location in South Africa throughout the second half of 2010. A second series was completed on location in Cape Town and was aired in 2012. Roxane Hayward, Bart Fouche, Katie McGlynn and Pam St. Clement guest-starred in the second series. A second series premiered on the CBBC on 20 September 2012, starting with episodes one and two being shown back to back as an hour-long instalments called Illusion. For Series 2, actor James Clyde replaced Alistair McGowan in the role of Piero de' Medici. Historical accuracy A Friday Download promotion for Leonardo suggested that the series is factual, but the series is misleading in certain respects. For example, in series 1, episode 5 the eponymous hero falls in love with a girl called Valentina. Art historians, including Kenneth Clark, have argued that Leonardo da Vinci was homosexual, and had no romantic interest in women. Another problem is that the action is said to take place in Florence in 1467. However, in episode 8 Leonardo is shown in competition with Michelangelo, who was not even born until 1475. In an interview with C21 Media, co-director