An Italian historian claims to have identified the bridge in the background of the famous Mona Lisa

The Italian historian Silvano Vincetti does not doubt that this bridge is the Romito dei Laterina Bridge in the province of Arezzo that Leonardo da Vinci painted in the landscape behind the enigmatic Mona Lisa. That would put an end to the mystery that has sparked countless disputes over the years.

Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in Florence in the early 16th century, and the identity of the woman in the oil painting – widely believed to be Lisa del Giocondo – has prompted as much speculation as the distant background.

In the past, the bridge has been identified as Ponte Buriano, near Laterina, and Ponte Bobbio in the northern Italian city of Piacenza, among others.

Using historical documents and drone footage, and making comparisons between the painting and photographs of the area, Vinciti is now convinced that it was an “Etruscan-Roman bridge, Romito.”

Four brackets

The most telling detail, he told reporters in Rome, was the number of arches: the bridge in da Vinci’s painting had four arches, like Romito’s. On the other hand, Ponte Buriano has six arches, while Ponte Bobbio has more than six arches.

Of Romito, which spanned the Arno, only one arch remains, as well as the foundations of the bridge on the other side of the river bank.

Documents belonging to the Medici family found in the Florentine State Archives show that between 1501 and 1503 the bridge was “a very busy and working bridge,” according to Vinceti. He points out that da Vinci was in the Val d’Arno region precisely at that time, first in the service of Cesare Borgia, Cardinal of the most famous noble families in the Renaissance in Italy, and then of Piero Soderini, statesman of the Republic. Florence.

Vincenti measured the width between the two banks of the river, and, from the dimensions of the remaining arch, determined that four arches of the same size fit perfectly into the span.

“The distinctive figure of Arnaud along that stretch of land corresponds to what da Vinci painted in the landscape to the left of the noblewoman in the famous painting,” says Vincetti.

According to Simona Neri, mayor of Latrina, Vincetti’s theory is causing a lot of excitement in the city of over 3,500. “We have to try to protect the rest of the bridge, and that takes money,” she says.

A bike path will soon be built along part of the Arno, running along the remains of Ponte Romito. Neary hopes the alleged connection to the Mona Lisa will bring more tourists to the area.