Jan. 19, 2007 — The woman behind Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting may be buried near a now derelict building in the heart of Florence, according to archival documents.
The exact location of Mona Lisa's burial site, the convent of Sant'Orsola, was just a about 900 feet away from the house of the artist's father, according to the historian, Giuseppe Pallanti.
"The mystery of Mona Lisa's identity is over. My study shows that she did exist indeed," Pallanti told Florence's daily La Nazione.
The author of two books on the Mona Lisa, Pallanti has identified her as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the wealthy Florentine silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo.
Pallanti's research supports a claim first made in 1550 by Giorgio Vasari. In his writing, Lives of the Artists, the 16th century painter and art historian named Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo as the subject of the portrait.
Among many theories, it has been suggested that Del Giocondo commissioned Leonardo for the painting to mark his wife's second pregnancy when she was about 24.
Indeed, "La Gioconda," as Italians call the Mona Lisa, has been puzzling art lovers since the portrait was completed around 1506.
Attempts to solve the enigma around her famous smile as well as her identity, have included theories that she was the artist's mother, a noblewoman, a courtesan, even a prostitute.
Theories also abound that the sitter was happily pregnant, or affected by various diseases ranging from facial paralysis to compulsive gnashing of teeth.
The newly discovered documents show that Leonardo's father — a local notary, Ser Piero da Vinci — and Lisa's family were neighbors, living about 10 feet away from each other in Via Ghibellina.
According to Pallanti's research, Lisa married Francesco del Giocondo in 1495, when she was 16 years old. Ser Francesco, who was 14 years her senior, had lost his first wife, Camilla Rucellai, the previous year.
The couple had five children: Piero, Andrea, Giocondo, Camilla and Marietta.
Pallanti found Ser Francesco's will and was able to reconstruct Lisa's last years. The will was signed by the notary Ser Piero, confirming that Leonardo's father and Lisa's husband knew each other.
