5 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The researchers may have cracked the mystery of da Vinci’s DNA

A recent study of Leonardo da Vinci’s family tree indicates that the renowned Renaissance artist, inventor, and anatomist had 14 surviving male cousins. The new family tree might one-day aid academics in determining if the Italian genius’s bones are placed in a French church.

Historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato have spent over a decade tracking the ancestors of famous painter.

Their map spans 690 years, 21 generations, and five family branches, and will be critical in assisting anthropologists in sequencing da Vinci’s DNA by sequencing the DNA of his ancestors, according to the researchers.

Beyond determining the identity of his possible remains, scientists hope that sequencing the artist’s DNA will help them better understand “his extraordinary talents — notably, his visual acuity, though genetic associations,” according to representatives from the Leonardo Da Vinci DNA Project, a project that aims to use genetic data to create 3D images of da Vinci through a process called DNA phenotyping.

In recent research, Vezzosi and Sabato traced the five branches of the da Vinci family tree using historical records from archives and direct recollections from surviving ancestors. Leonardo belonged to the sixth generation of da Vincis, according to historians.

Only one of da Vinci’s parents can be fully traced, making family history research challenges. Leonardo da Vinci was the son of Florentine lawyer Ser Piero da Vinci and a peasant woman named Caterina. He was born out of wedlock in the Tuscan hamlet of Anchiano. At age 5, the young da Vinci was taken to his family estate in the town of Vinci (from which his family took their surname ) to live with his grandparents.  

Da Vinci had no known offspring when he died on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67, and his bones were lost, thus there was no trustworthy DNA to examine. As a result, several aspects of his lineage are shrouded in obscurity.

Leonardo was buried at the church of Saint-Florentin in the Chateau d’Amboise, a manor house in France’s Loire Valley. After the French Revolution, the church was left to rot and was ultimately destroyed. According to contemporary reports, a whole skeleton was excavated from the spot and relocated to the adjacent Saint-Hubert church, although whether or not these are Leonardo’s bones remains unknown.

The new family tree, which begins in 1331 with family patriarch Michele, showed 14 surviving relatives with diverse vocations such as office employees, a pastry chef, a blacksmith, an upholsterer, a porcelain vendor, and an artist.

The researchers will compare the Y chromosome in the human remains from the Loire Valley chapel to the Y chromosome in da Vinci’s male relatives to establish whether the human remains from the Loire Valley chapel belong to da Vinci. According to the experts, the Y chromosome is passed down from father to son and can remain virtually unaltered for up to 25 generations.

Furthermore, discovering remnants of da Vinci’s genetic code might assist art historians in determining the validity of artworks, notes, and diary entries allegedly made by the Italian Renaissance artist by matching his discovered DNA with DNA traces found on the items.

The researchers published their findings July 4 in the journal Human Evolution.

Originally published on Live Science.

Related Articles

A surprising discovery in Lublin countryside! Ancient figurines of Egyptian and Roman gods found

6 May 2023

6 May 2023

Two ancient figurines depicting the Egyptian god Osiris and a bust of the Roman god Bacchus were found in the...

A Large Copper Age Necropolis Discovered in Italian Town

16 February 2024

16 February 2024

In the town of San Giorgio Bigarello, near the northern Italia city of Mantua, a large Copper Age necropolis dating...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

Experts say that the Stone of Destiny was a doorstep

2 May 2024

2 May 2024

The Stone of Destiny’s recorded links to Scottish royalty date back almost 1000 years, and its origins are shrouded in...

Remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven were discovered in the ancient city of Troy

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

Remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven were found in the ancient city of Troy, located in the Tevfikiye district of Çanakkale...

Archaeologists found a noble woman buried beside her ‘husband’ 1,000 years ago with the top of her face hollowed out

4 November 2023

4 November 2023

Archaeologists unearthed the 1,000-year-old remains of a woman with her face and head hollowed out buried next to her husband...

Unique ancient Egyptian amulet seal discovered during archeological excavations in northern Turkey

11 November 2022

11 November 2022

During archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Amastris in the Amasra district of northern Turkey’s Bartın, an enchanted amulet...

Funerary urn depicting Maya corn god uncovered during Maya Train work

10 January 2024

10 January 2024

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducting salvage work along section 7 of the Maya Train...

Inscription dedicated to Roman Emperor Hadrian found in ancient city of Blaundus

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

An inscription dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian was discovered during the ongoing excavations at the ancient city of Blaundus...

A rare medieval Christogram Tattoo from Ghazali, Sudan

22 October 2023

22 October 2023

A Polish-Sudanese research team investigating the medieval African monastery of Ghazali discovered a rare medieval religious tattoo in a tomb...

The largest marine turtle fossil of its kind ever discovered in Europe unearthed in Spain

21 November 2022

21 November 2022

In northern Spain, scientists discovered the remains of a new species of enormous marine turtle. The prehistoric creature is the...

Researchers have found in miniature ceramic bottles evidence of the oldest known use of cosmetics in the Balkans

14 July 2021

14 July 2021

In miniature ceramic bottles from excavations ascribed to the Lasinja Culture in the Southeast Prealps and the Vinča Culture in...

Ancient terracotta dancers, and musicians unearthed in China

13 November 2022

13 November 2022

Chinese archaeologists recently discovered a large group of terracotta figurines from a tomb in a group dating to the Northern...

Artifacts for sale offered at a Dutch auction house returned to Peru

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

The Dutch government announced in a press release today that the artifacts that were put up for sale at an...

Rare Piece Of Metal Armor Found At 17th-Century Fort In Maryland

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

A piece of body armor was unearthed during excavations at a 17th-century colonial fort in Maryland, a Mid-Atlantic state of...