The woman who sat for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was the wife of family friend, new research has found.
The identity of the woman in the world-famous portrait has long been debated, with some experts claiming she was da Vinci's mother and others saying she was a Florentine prostitute.
But new research has revealed she was Lisa Gherardini, the virtuous wife of a wealthy silk merchant - a friend of da Vinci's - who had five children, according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph.
Giuseppe Pallanti, a teacher from Florence who has spent 25 years researching the city's archives, has discovered the first clear evidence that da Vinci's family was closely connected to the silk trader Francesco del Giocondo, who married Lisa Gherardini in 1495.
'All the indications are that Leonardo's father and Mona Lisa's husband knew each other,' he said.