After centuries of debate, the location of the bridge in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has been identified once and for all, at least according to Italian historian Silvano Vinceti. Based on historical documents, drone images of the present landscape, and precise measurements, Vinceti is convinced that the 16th century painting depicts the Romito di Laterina bridge in the province of Arezzo. As one might expect, the small Tuscan village is quite stoked. From The Guardian:
Theories in the past have identified the bridge as Ponte Buriano, close to Laterina, as well as Ponte Bobbio in the northern Italian city of Piacenza[…]
The most telling detail, he told reporters at the foreign press association in Rome, was in the number of arches: the bridge in Leonardo's painting had four arches, as did the Romito. Ponte Buriano, on the other hand, has six arches, while Ponte Bobbio has more than six[…]
Vinceti also found documents that attest to Leonardo often residing in Fiesole at the time, with an uncle who was a priest.
Simona Neri, the mayor of Laterina, said Vinceti's theory had caused a lot of excitement in the town of just over 3,500 people. "We need to try to protect what's left of the bridge, which will require funding," she said. Vinceti's claims, however, will no doubt put the noses of those in nearby Buriano, where a poster of the Mona Lisa claim to fame stands next to a signpost for its bridge, out of joint.
