History sleuths crack the real da Vinci code, tracking down Leonardo’s living relatives

Italian researchers said Thursday they have discovered living relatives of the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci, despite the loss of his body centuries ago having made DNA comparison impossible.

Historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato told a press conference in Florence they had uncovered modern-day relatives of the 15th-century painter, engineer and mathematician - among them a star on Italy’s contemporary art scene.

Their research, which began in 1973, led them to track down some 35 indirect descendants of the man behind the world-famous Mona Lisa portrait, including Italian film, opera and television Academy-award nominee Franco Zeffirelli, according to media reports.

Vezzosi, director of the Leonardo da Vinci museum and Sabato, president of the international da Vinci association, told journalists they made the discovery after studying documents in Italy, France and Spain.

There was no DNA to test as da Vinci’s remains were lost in the 16th century during religious wars following his death in 1519, but the pair painstakingly trawled through church, council and estate papers to draw up a family tree.

Da Vinci himself never had any children but he had many siblings and it is their descendants who have been traced.