Italian researchers say that they have found two “relics” belonging to Leonardo da Vinci, which may help in sourcing the DNA of the genius whose work typified the Renaissance.
The mysterious relics were traced during a decades-long genealogical study into Leonardo’s family.
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The bones attributed to Leonardo went lost for a decade. They were rediscovered in 1874 and reburied in the chapel of Saint-Hubert at the Château d’Amboise. There, a plaque correctly states that the grave contains Leonardo’s “presumed remains.”
Permission to exhume the bones for analysis has always been denied for ethical reasons. The organic relic claimed by the researchers was sourced from an unidentified private collector.
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“We pieced together an archive of hundreds of Leonardo’s fingerprints, hoping to get some biological material,” said [Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale in Vinci]. “At that time, cracking da Vinci’s DNA code was just a wild dream. Now it’s a real possibility.”
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Since last year, Vezzosi and [Historian Agnese Sabato] have updated the official da Vinci family tree, adding more than 150 names.
“The hunt for Leonardo DNA can now rely on a good, well-referenced genealogy,” Sabato said.
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