Archeologists in Florence, Italy, have found a tomb that
they say might hold the remains of Lisa Gherardini, who was immortalized in
Leonardo Da Vinci's iconic 'Mona Lisa.'
Archaeologists in Florence, Italy, might have found the
remains of the world's most famous artistic subject.
The Italian news agency ANSA reports that a team led by art
historian Silvano Vincenti, head of the National Committee for the Enhancement
of Historical, Cultural and Environmental Heritage, may have discovered a tomb
in a former convent that could contain the skeleton of Lisa Gherardini, thought
to be the subject of Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa.'
Vinceti says that, after the year 1500, only two women were
buried at the medieval convent of St. Ursula: Mona Lisa Gherardini, in 1542,
and another noblewoman, Maria del Riccio.
Gherardini is widely believed to have inspired the Da
Vinci's iconic painting. The wife of wealthy merchant Francesco del Giocondo,
she lived at the convent after her husband died, according to ANSA.
Vinceti told ABC News the bones will be tested at the
University of Bologna for DNA matches to the bones of Gherardini's two sons,
who were buried in Florence’s Santissima Annunziata church
Discovery News reports that the project ultimately aims to
reconstruct the faces of the women buried there, perhaps even recreating Mona
Lisa's mysterious smile.
"I'm confident we're going to find something,"
Vinceti told ANSA.
