No other painting is surrounded by as many myths and hypotheses as the famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
More than 500 years after the iconic oil painting was created, a researcher says she has finally solved another of the many mysteries surrounding it.
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the main attraction of the Louvre in Paris, and several million visitors want to see the famous oil painting each year. It is primarily her mysterious smile that immediately charms every viewer.
However, the mystery that researchers claim to have solved is not so much about the ever-smiling figure itself, but about the background against which she poses. Behind Mona Lisa's left shoulder is a filigree bridge with arched spans crossing the river.
There has been countless speculation in the past as to which bridge this might be. It was once said to be a medieval bridge in the small town of Bobbio in the Italian province of Piacenza.
Scientists, in turn, were confident that they had identified a bridge in Buriano in the province of Arezzo. Most recently, last year, it was said that it must be the Romito Bridge in Laterina, which is also in the province of Arezzo.
A new theory about the landscape behind the Mona Lisa
But neither of these options is true, if Italian-American geologist and art historian, Ann Pizzorusso, is to be believed. According to Italian newspaper, La Nazione, she presented a brand new theory about the landscape in the Mona Lisa painting at a conference in the northern Italian city of Lecco on Lake Como over the weekend.
It is said to be the area between Lecco and Lake Garlate, south of Lake Como in Lombardy, that once inspired Leonardo da Vinci. And the bridge in the painting is clearly Ponte Azzone Visconti in the city of Lecco itself.
According to Pizzorusso, the similarities between these places and the painting are undeniable. There are also limestone cliffs, which the artist depicted in shades of white and gray. It is also said that Leonardo da Vinci visited Lake Garlate 500 years ago.
"You can give this photo to any geologist in the world and they will say what I say about Lecco. Even a non-geologist can now see the similarities," the expert is quoted by the British newspaper, The Guardian.
According to the report, Pizzorusso's new theory about the landscape in the Mona Lisa painting has met with great acclaim among art experts. "I don't doubt for a moment that Pizzorusso is right with the theory because she knows the geology of the Italian soil perfectly," Jacques Franck, an art historian and former Louvre consultant, told the Guardian.
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Whether Ann Pizzorusso is actually right with her theory will likely never be confirmed with absolute certainty. Because only one person knows the answer: Leonardo da Vinci.
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This article was originally published on Onet Travel.