Latest Lisa Gherardini Stories

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most well-known and famously discussed pieces of art. A mystery for centuries, German academics announced in 2008 that they had determined her identity once and for all, saying Mona Lisa is undoubtedly Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, wife of a wealthy silk merchant. With her identity finally sorted, researchers are now saying they might know where Ms. Gherardini’s bones are buried; possibly...

Researchers are digging up the remains of an Italian noblewoman who they believe could be the model who sat for Leonardo da Vinci's infamous Mona Lisa masterpiece. Art historian Silvano Vinceti believes that by locating the remains of Lisa Gherardini, he will be able to prove whether or not she was the artists' model. According to a death certificate, Gherardini died in 1542 and is interred in a convent in Florence. The excavation will begin at Saint Orsola later this month. Art experts have...

Italian scientists are seeking permission from French authorities to exhume the body of Leonardo da Vinci in order to conduct carbon and DNA testing they hope will solve many of the mysteries about the famous artist, the Associated Press reported Friday.Should da Vinci's skull be found intact, the scientists believe they can answer a question that has long fascinated scholars and the public alike: the identity of the "Mona Lisa", and whether or not it was a self-portrait in disguise.The...