Behind the shoulders of Monnalisa there would not be Ponte Buriano but the Romito di Laterina bridge. This is supported by research coordinated by the historian Silvano Vincenti which, at least on paper, seems to have found the solution to the mystery contained in the most famous painting in the world by Leonardo Da Vinci. Vincenti’s research was conducted thanks also to the collaboration of the cultural association La Rocca di Laterina and would be based on new historical documents and comparisons between current photographs and what is depicted in the painting. The theses supported would completely undermine the theories that, in the past, have geolocated the landscape depicted behind the shoulders of the noblewoman, first with the medieval bridge of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, and then with the Buriano bridge in Arezzo.
“In reality it is the Etruscan-Roman bridge Romito or Ponte di Valle – explains Vinceti to Ansa – Of this currently only one arch remains, but between 1501 and 1503 it was in operation and very popular”. In the same years the genius of Vinci it was located in Valdarno, first in the service of Cesare Borgia and then of the gonfaloniere of the Republic of Florence Pier Soderini.Il Romito had four arches, rested on two cliffs, was part of a byway or shortcut that made it possible to shorten the journey between Arezzo, Fiesole and Florence. The Bobbio bridge, on the other hand, has more than six arches, and the one in Buriano has six. “There are various correspondences between the Romito bridge – underlines Vinceti – the particular morphologies of the Arno in that stretch of territory and what Leonardo reported in the landscape to the left of the noblewoman. These correspondences emerged thanks to the images taken by a drone which allowed us to highlight the presence of two cliffs on the left and right side of the Romito and the sinuous course of the Arno, as depicted in the Mona Lisa painting. Furthermore, the virtual reconstruction of the bridge, created on the basis of the width of the Arno in the section where the Romito bridge is located, highlights a strong similarity with the bridge in the portrait. The same can be said for the shape and size of the four arches. The analysis of the images taken with the drone and of the historical documents has allowed us to identify, with a high level of probability, the landscape painted in the lower left part of the Mona Lisa. That is, the complex of crags or earth pyramids in the upper Valdarno area that inspired Leonardo. And in this regard, some drawings of flounces present in the Hammer Code (or Leicester Code), Leonardo’s famous manuscript dating from between 1506 and 1510, are of fundamental importance”.
“This morning – specified the mayor of Laterina Pergine Valdarno, Simon Blacks – together with my deputy Andrea Sordini we attended the press conference to present a great discovery that concerns our territory and makes it the protagonist: it is the Romito Bridge, the one depicted behind Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa according to studies by the historian Vinceti. Many details that objectively confirm this hypothesis. We really hope that this wonderful news will intrigue and excite local and foreign tourists, in the awareness that it is a great opportunity to relaunch tourism in our area on which we can work a lot starting from naturalistic, cultural and monumental enhancement”.
