Mona Lisa: the historian reveals one of the mysteries of Leonardo da Vinci’s work

One of the most famous works of art in the world, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is surrounded by numerous mysteries.

One of the enigmas of sixteenth-century painting has finally been deciphered, according to the English newspaper “The Guardian”.

According to the publication, geologist and Renaissance art historian Ann Pizzorusso identified the location of the landscape depicted in Da Vinci’s painting.

Pizzorusso combined her skills as a geologist and historian to come to the conclusion that the painting reproduces the Mona Lisa in Lombardy, northern Italy.

The location portrayed would be the municipality of Lecco, in the province of the same name, on the shores of Lake Como.

One of the symbols of Lecco, the Azzone Visconti bridge, also called Ponte Vecchio, would be the same one painted in the landscape behind the Mona Lisa.

Furthermore, Ann Pizzorusso identified the Alps and Lake Garlate on the screen, which also constitute the scenery of the region.

The researcher used geolocation programs, such as Google Maps and Google Earth, to make her discovery.

The landscape painted on the Mona Lisa has always been a subject of controversy among researchers of the art of the Renaissance genius.

In 2011, historian Carla Glori argued that the mountain range and bridge depicted in the work are located in the small medieval village of Bobbio.

Glori supported his conclusion in a numerical code. The number 72 shown on one of the arches of the bridge would refer to a flood of the Trebbia river which almost destroyed the building in 1472.

In 2023, another Italian historian, Silvano Vinceti, declared that the bridge represented in the painting is Romito di Laterina, located in Arezzo, a municipality in the Tuscany region.

Ann Pizzorusso, however, maintains that the bridge alone is not enough to specify the place portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci.

“Arch bridges were ubiquitous in Europe and many looked similar. It is impossible to identify an exact location just next to the bridge. Everyone talks about the bridge and no one mentions the geology,” claims the researcher.

Note that the Italian painter depicted the rocks on the canvas in a grayish-white color, characteristic of the stones found in Lecco.

Pizzorusso also notes that Bobbio and Arezzo have no lake. “We have perfect tests in Lecco,” he added.

The geologist presented her study on the Mona Lisa at a conference held in northern Italy.

He told the British BBC network that he considers Leonardo da Vinci the “father of geology”, due to his ability to reproduce aspects of nature with maximum realism.

Leonardo da Vinci did not limit his activity to painting, also dedicating himself to other forms of art, such as sculpture and poetry, and also making contributions to various fields of knowledge, such as mathematics, anatomy and engineering. In the image, “The Vitruvian Man”, one of his most famous drawings.

Studies suggest that Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, also known as “La Gioconda,” between 1503 and 1506.

The painting is part of the Louvre collection, being one of the main attractions of the famous Parisian museum.