At the end of July 2012, Italian archaeologists found remains in Florence that most likely may belong to Lisa Gherardini. It is this aristocrat, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, who is the very mysterious model who posed for Leonardo da Vinci. The great painter painted the picture "Mona Lisa" from her.
The archaeological campaign to find the remains of the Mona Lisa was led by the artist's biographer Giuseppe Pallanti. In 2007, he published a book in which he claimed that the female model "Mona Lisa" was buried in Florence. It was recently revealed that after the death of her husband, she was tonsured and went to the monastery of St. Ursula, where she lived until the end of her days. Lise Gherardini died in 1542 and was buried near the monastery. It was there that it was decided to search for her remains.
Archaeologists led by Pallanti began excavations on the territory of the abandoned monastery in 2011. Then they had to overcome a rather thick layer of concrete, recently laid, after it was decided to erect barracks on the site of the former monastery. The hard work of archaeologists paid off handsomely. Having overcome the concrete layer, at a depth of one and a half meters, scientists stumbled upon a crypt in which a human skull was found, as well as fragments of a spine and ribs. Experts carried out radiocarbon analysis and found that these remains date back to the 18th century. Therefore, they cannot belong to the model of a great artist. The excavation was soon stopped due to lack of money.
They resumed in June 2012. Already in July, the team of Giuseppe Pallanti, during the autopsy of the next burial in the Monastery of St. Ursula, managed to find a well-preserved skeleton, which, most likely, belongs to Lisa del Giocondo. To unconditionally approve this, it is necessary to wait for the verdict of specialists, who must carefully examine the skeleton and check its age.
All necessary research will be carried out by the University of Bologna. In particular, scientists plan to do a genetic analysis: they intend to compare the DNA of the found skeleton with the DNA of the remains of two children of Lisa del Giocondo. Where they are buried is absolutely known. The children of the Mona Lisa rest in the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata. In 2011, their remains were already exhumed for DNA collection.
Excavations at the Monastery of St. Ursula are due to be completed in September. The examination will take about four months. The final results will be known only by the beginning of 2013. Scientists also plan to carry out a physiognomic reconstruction of the face of "Mona Lisa" on the skull and check the portrait resemblance. Perhaps in the process of modeling it will be possible to reveal the riddle of the Mona Lisa's smile.
