Archaeologists in Florence, Italy, began searching yesterday for the remains of a woman thought to be the model who sat for Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”. The reason: curiosity.

The scientists are essentially using ground-penetrating radar to find the body of “Lisa Gherardini”, the supposed sitter for the painting. They then want to use her skull to see if she looks like the painting.

The team wants to excavate in the halls of a former medieval convent in the heart of Florence, then dig up the body and test her DNA against Gherardini’s descendants.

However, Natalia Strozzi, a local princess and part-time actor, claiming to be related to Lisa Gherardini says:

“It’s not possible. Let her rest in peace! What would finding the remains change compared to the fascination of Leonardo’s painting?”

“Wanting to find the bones seems sacrilegious and inopportune.”

My reply to the good princess: Come on! Let’s dig her up and see what’s she’s been hiding behind that smile of hers.

[Source : News24]