Doubt in the legless leg of the Renaissance warrior

The death of a fierce but aristocratic aristocrat who lived in the Renaissance may have nothing to do with a wound in a battle. This means that part of Italian history will probably have to be rewritten.

Italian researchers excavated Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere 's grave this week to investigate the true cause of his death.

Giovanni was born in 1498 in the wealthy and powerful Medici family, one of the most famous lineages in Florence and Renaissance Italy with three Pope and 2 regents of France. Giovanni himself is considered a great, invincible warrior, commanding the mercenary army for Pope Leo X also of the Medici family.

The tomb of Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere and his wife Maria Salviati in Florence. (Photo: Ph. Marco Ferri)

History records that during a terrible battle in 1526, Giovanni was injured and forced to remove the entire right leg but he died a few days later due to infection. However, the recent bone analysis process did not find any signs of that surgery nor the wound in the thigh that was hit.

The remains of Giovanni's bones along with his wife Maria Salviati contained in two boxes of zinc at the Medici family crypt in Florence. The bones of the shin and fibula were lost while the new thigh, which had been amputated, was intact.

According to the expert group, Giovanni's tomb once opened a total of five times but only this time, a new medical mystery was discovered.'Giovanni is injured on his right leg (probably on his knees) but only with his feet, is it because the person performing the surgery is not a good doctor or is the information coming to us incorrect?', Marco Ferri, spokesperson for the Florentine Museum, expressed doubt.

Through preliminary measurement, Giovanni is about 1.78m high. Researchers, led by Gino Fornaciari of the University of Pisa, also found a cylindrical glass box inside with a rolled up card. This information has never been mentioned in previous surveys. Ferri said the group is still continuing to conduct specific analyzes before announcing it.

Reference: Livescience