The clue about Mona Lisa's remains

A group of Italian scientists has found the skeleton most likely belongs to Lisa Gherardini, who is believed to be the archetype of the famous Mono Lisa painting.

Add new clues to Mona Lisa's remains

Italian researchers have come closer to determining a woman's identity as a model for the Mona Lisa painting, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in the Renaissance (14-17 century). Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world while the woman modeling for him became one of the greatest secrets of painting history.

The Mona Lisa painting was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in the Renaissance.(Photo: USA Today).

After four years of excavation of the remains under the old monastery in Florence, Italy, researchers found a small remains, possibly belonging to Lisa Gherardini, wife of a silk merchant, who was studied by scholars. arguably the prototype of the masterpiece painting.

The radiocarbon dating method shows that the skeleton dates back to the same time as Mrs. Gherardini, who died in July 1542 at age 63, according to the results of the study.

Historical records indicate that Gherardini lived in seclusion during the last years of his life at St. Ursala monastery in Florence, and rested here.

The excavation area is located under the monastery of St. Ursula, Florence, Italy.(Photo: New York Post).

"I am sure the skeleton belongs to Lisa Gherardini. Our archaeological and historical research results are very consistent with the results from radiocarbon methods , " Silvano Vinceti, the art historian who led the research. , share with The Telegraph.

The next step in the study is to sample DNA from the femur sections of the remains and compare it with the DNA from Gherardini's two children. However, the bones of the children, found in a tomb in Santissima Annunziata Church, Florence, were severely damaged after years of flooding from the Arno River.

According to Professor Giorgio Gruppioni, head of the anthropological laboratory at Bologna University, Italy, humid conditions have destroyed the remains to the point of irreversible and they do not provide enough DNA for compare.

"We hope that complex techniques will allow DNA extraction, analysis and comparison to be able to identify the skeleton belonging to Lisa Gherardini , " Gruppioni said.

A researcher observes the skeleton in the excavation area.(Photo: The Huffington Post).

Some controversy points to dozens of people buried in the monastery for decades. Even if the skeleton dates back to the time when Gherardini died, they may belong to another woman.

Vinceti hopes to find Gherardini's skull and then use the inspection technique to recreate her face, then compare the reconstruction with the Mona Lisa. However, the team has not found the skull.

In the case of skeletons proven to belong to Gherardini, scholars have yet to agree whether she is the prototype of the Mona Lisa painting. Many people believe that this masterpiece is a self-portrait of Leonardo, a painting of a Spanish noble or Salai, an apprentice at his home.