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International Project Traces Leonardo da Vinci’s Lineage for 15 Generations and Tries to Recover His DNA to Understand Biological Traits and Expand Historical Knowledge.
More than 500 years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci continues to spark curiosity and admiration worldwide. Now, a new scientific investigation seeks to reveal more about the biological origin of the Renaissance genius, crossing genealogy, DNA, and history.
International Project Brings History and Science Around Leonardo da Vinci
The study is led by the International DNA Project Leonardo and documented in the book Genìa Da Vinci: Genealogy and Genetics for Leonardo’s DNA.
The initiative aims to reconstruct the genetic profile of Leonardo da Vinci based on historical documents, archaeological excavations, and modern genetic analyses.
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One of the founders, Alessandro Vezzosi, claims that the project seeks to preserve the places linked to the artist and enable scientific research with his DNA.
The hope is to better understand his extraordinary abilities, such as keen vision, creativity, and even possible causes of his death.
Living Descendants Help in the Search
The basis of the project is an extensive genealogical research conducted over more than 30 years by Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato.
The book traces the Da Vinci family tree up to the year 1331. In total, more than 400 individuals have been identified across 21 generations, including 15 living descendants from the male line of Leonardo’s father and half-brother.
These discoveries allowed a team led by David Caramelli, director of the Department of Biology at the University of Florence, to conduct genetic tests with six male relatives. They searched for markers on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son through generations.
The tests confirmed the existence of shared segments of the Y chromosome among the analyzed men, proving the continuity of the male da Vinci lineage up to at least the 15th generation.
Leonardo’s Genetic Profile Can Be Recovered
With the results obtained, the team can move forward with more detailed analyses of the Y chromosome and compare them to the data of the living descendants.
Since 2016, the Leonardo DNA Project has aimed to isolate this chromosome from materials linked to the artist, such as manuscripts and objects.
According to Jesse H. Ausubel, project director, even minimal traces, such as a fingerprint on a page, may contain cells with enough DNA to be sequenced.
He emphasizes that the science of the 21st century is pushing the boundaries between the unknowable and the unknown.
Cultural Heritage and Science Hand in Hand
Agnese Sabato recalls that Leonardo already reflected on the origin of human life in his studies. For her, the artist’s work anticipated current debates between genetics and epigenetics, uniting biology, emotion, and destiny.
In addition to the genetic discoveries, the project revealed a curious detail: a charcoal drawing on a fireplace in the city of Vinci, where Leonardo was born.
The image depicts a fantastic creature with a spiral horn, sharp teeth, and wings. The sketch, called the “Unicorn Dragon,” has characteristics similar to drawings made by Leonardo in the 1470s.
The drawing is being analyzed and restored. For researchers, it could be an original work by da Vinci himself.
“It’s not just about the author of the world’s most famous painting,” says Ausubel. For him, the project represents an effort to redefine the limits of historical knowledge and value cultural heritage.
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