Drone photos and historical documents suggest that Leonardo da Vinci based the bridge that appears in the backdrop of the Mona Lisa on a very real bridge located in the Italian province of Arezzo.
The Mona Lisa contains many mysteries. But one, at least, has apparently just been solved. An Italian historian claims he has identified the bridge that appears in the background of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting as the Romito di Laterina bridge in the province of Arezzo.
“We have all the elements that point to this being the bridge portrayed in the Mona Lisa,” Italian historian Silvano Vinceti told the Telegraph.
According to The Guardian, Vinceti used historical documents and drone images to make his determination. The Romito di Laterina bridge has just one arch today, but Vinceti found that it would have fit the span of the river with four arches, just like in the painting. That makes it a better fit for the Mona Lisa than other bridges that have been proposed in the past.
“The bridge in the painting is neither the one at Bobbio nor Buriano,” Vinceti said according to the Telegraph, referencing other bridges that have been linked to the painting before, both of which have more than four arches. “We’re convinced instead that it is the one at Laterina.”
Vinceti, who has written a number of books on da Vinci, also poured over historical documents to determine that the painter spent time near Arezzo.
