Mona Lisa
© ReutersRemains found in Florence, Italy, are strongly believed to belong to Lisa Gherardini, who posed for the Mona Lisa.
Experts strongly believe they've come across bone fragments that belong to Lisa Gherardini, who posed Leonardo da Vinci's for the Mona Lisa.

One of history's greatest mysteries seems to have been finally resolved, after remains that are strongly believed to belong to Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, better known as the Mona Lisa, were found in convent in Florence, Italy.

"There are converging elements, above and beyond the results of the carbon-14 tests, that say we may well have found Lisa's grave," said lead researcher Silvano Vincenti. "I'm speaking of historical, anthropological and archaeological analyses that have been carried out very rigorously."

Vincenti spoke cautiously, saying, "We can't provide absolute certainty that some of the remains examined are Lisa's but the likelihood is very high. I have to say that many historians would have stated this was Lisa on the basis of written records, with many fewer elements and without scientific data."

The remains of the Gherardini - the woman immortalized by Leonardo Da Vinci's painting - were found in her tomb at the former convent of Santa Orsola in Florence.

Vinceti said he is convinced that the search for the Mona Lisa, which began in 2011 has ended.

"I can cautiously and prudentially affirm that there is a very high percentage that the remains found belong to to the Mona Lisa," he reiterated.
mona lisa grave
© Agencia EFE
The researchers found bone fragments that were tested and found to be compatible to the period when Gherardini died. Lisa reportedly died age 63 on July 15, 1542. "Unfortunately we have only very few remains and we don't have the skull, but the conclusions we have arrived to are a great result," Vincenti added.

For now, the expert said, the remains will be guarded by the University of Bologna in Italy, where they will be submitted to various analyses, including DNA, which would confirm the identity. However, DNA testing will be complicated due to the scarcity of bone fragments found. The specialist explained that the plan by researchers is to compare the DNA results with those found in another church in Florence belonging to two of Gherardini's sons.