Italian researchers announced Thursday the discovery of living descendants of relatives of the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci, despite the disappearance of his body and therefore without resorting to DNA tests.
At a press conference held in Florence, historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato argued that the family of pintos and mathematician was not extinct, as previously thought.
Begun in 1973, research has uncovered about 35 descendants of the family of the painter of the Mona Lisa and one of them, according to the media, it would be the filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, director of "Romeo and Juliet" (1968) or "La Traviata" (1983).
Leonardo da Vinci had no children. These family descendants would be his brothers and sisters.
The remains of the Tuscan master were lost successive wars in 1519 to his death religion, depriving scientists of precious samples of DNA to try to identify five century after members of his family.
However, the researchers were able to reconstruct a family tree from documents found in churches and property records, related especially womenfolk.
The announcement of living descendants of the family of the Renaissance master shocked Vinci, his native Tuscan town, where several neighbors discovered their links with the artist.
"My mom Dina was right. We had spoken of documents and letters written decades ago and that could only be read in the mirror, "referring to the fact that Da Vinci wrote sometimes from right to left, he told the newspaper La Stampa Giovanni Calosi.
"Never will those documents that were lost or sold gave importance. But what we consider long been a legend passed down from generation to generation has proved true, "said this former bookseller who has nine years working in the studio.