Mona Lisa's True Identify May Be Unlocked in Upcoming DNA Test, Scientists Report

Researchers say they plan on running DNA tests to determine whether the remains of a woman exhumed from a convent in central Florence belong to the subject of Leonado da Vinci's "Mona Lisa."

The tomb belongs to the family of Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo, a merchant's wife said to have lived across the street from the great painter.

According to the writings of Giorgio Vassari, a famous 16th artist and historian, "Leonardo undertook to execute, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa his wife, and after he had lingered over it for four years," adding that the work was then turned over to King Francis I of France.

However, several skeletons were unearthed at the site of the first dig and it's not clear which one represents to the mysterious maiden.

"Right now we are carrying out carbon-14 tests on three of the eight skeletons found in St. Ursula, which could be the age Lisa Gherardini was when she died," Silvano Vinceti, the head of Italy's national committee for cultural heritage, told the Italian news agency ANSA.

These tests, he said, will help identify the skeleton that dates back to the 1500s. 

"Only then will we know which skeleton to do the final DNA test on."

However, even after the team of researchers identifies the skeleton best suited in terms of age, there is no way to be sure the remains represent the woman they're after until they have verified its DNA as belonging to the Gherardini family.

For this reason, the researchers announced they will open a family tomb known to hold her two sons. In comparing the DNA from the two graves, the team hopes to verify the remains of the woman whose tight-lipped gaze has become one of the world's most iconic.