Art historian may have found the place where da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa | The USA Print

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

An Italian art historian claims to have identified the bridge in the background of Leonardo da Vinci’s celebrated Mona Lisa painting, thus solving the mystery of where it was painted.

silvano vincettiwho worked on the project with the cultural association Le Rocca, analyzed newly discovered historical documents and compared the current landscape with the painting using a drone.

Vinceti now believes that the bridge is one that is located precisely in Tuscany, as published by The Guardian.

“It is the Etruscan-Roman Romito bridge, also known as Ponte di Vallelocated in the municipality of Laterina in the province of Arezzo,” Vinceti told the Italian publication ansa.

“Today only one arch of the bridge remains, but in the period between 1501 and 1503 the bridge was in operation and very busy, as evidenced by a document on the state of goods on the estates of the Medici family, which is located in the state archives of Florence”, he adds.

People have previously suggested that the bridge seen on the Mona Lisa was either the Ponte Buriano on the Arno River, or the Ponte Vecchio in Bobbio. However, the Ponte di Valle has four arches, so it fits better than the others that have six or more. According to Vinceti, the landscape also matches.

“The distinctive shape of the Arno through that stretch of territory corresponds to what Leonardo portrayed in the landscape to the left of the noblewoman depicted in the famous painting,” he explains.

Though for the most part collapsed now, the bridge served as a shortcut between Arezzo, Fiesole and Florence. Documents examined by Vinceti show that da Vinci often resided in Fiesole with his uncle, a priest named Amadori or Amadoro.

Now all that remains is to find out the true identity of the Mona Lisa.

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