Over 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, an academic believes she has unravelled the mystery about the backdrop to one of the world's most famous works of art.

A mash-up of geology and art history has identified a likely setting for one of the world’s most famous paintings.

While undoubtedly the most recognized painting in the world, the Mona Lisa (1503-1519) is also one of the most puzzling since it was painted centuries ago by Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci. Both the sitter and background remain a point of contention for art historians…until now. Well, allegedly and only the latter part.

An expert in both geology and the Italian Renaissance claims that she knows the exact locale that inspired the background in the Mona Lisa.

The world’s most famous painting has divided historians for generations, with no one knowing for sure who Mona Lisa is – though many believe it to depict Italian noblewoman Li

While many art historians have focused on the woman in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Ann Pizzorusso has a different obsession — the mountain ridges in the background.

A glimpse of the Alps, Lake Como and a 14th-century bridge indicate that the painting is set in the northern Italian city of Lecco, a geologist claims

The world’s most famous painting has divided historians for generations, with no one knowing for sure who Mona Lisa is – though many believe it to depict Italian noblewoman Li