Scientists in the Italian city of Florence have opened a tomb to extract DNA they hope will identify the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
The tomb contains the family of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a silk merchant, who is believed to have sat for the artist.
It is hoped DNA will help to identify her from three skeletons found last year in a nearby convent.
Experts have for centuries puzzled over the woman featured in the Mona Lisa.
To find the DNA they needed, scientists cut a round hole in the stone church floor above the family crypt of Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The tomb lies behind the altar of the Santissima Annunziata Basilica.
Full story here;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23644448
This short video on the opening of the tomb from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23645133
I have a particular interest to da Vinci due to an image he created in a piece of work that has a strong resemblance to a piece of art in the Chauvet cave which is 30,000 years old.. check this link for the image and a short description of this connection;
http://www.chauvetdreams.co.uk/a-face-from-our-distant-past/
Florence tomb opened in quest to find 'Mona Lisa'
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