Family tomb opened in bid to identify Mona Lisa

ITALIAN art experts in Florence have opened a noble family tomb for the first time in centuries to try to confirm the identity of the woman featured in Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous portrait, the Mona Lisa.

Two years ago, archaeologists began searching for the long-lost tomb of Lisa Gherardini, believed to be the woman with the world’s most mysterious smile.

Mechanical diggers removed a cement floor from the former Convent of St Ursula, where Gherardini’s tomb is believed to be concealed, and removed remains last year.

In the latest phase of their investigation, experts opened her family crypt beneath the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata and removed the remains of her husband, Francesco Del Giocondo, a wealthy silk merchant, and her two sons, Piero and Bartolomeo.

They will now analyse the DNA taken from her two sons and compare the results with those obtained from three female skeletons dug up by archaeologists last year.

Del Giocondo is believed to have commissioned the portrait of his wife to celebrate the birth of their second son in 1502 or the purchase of a home in 1503.

If researchers determine a link between the skeletons, the next step will be to gather skull fragments to reconstruct Gherardini’s face to determine whether or not she was the woman in the painting.—