MILAN – The Mona Lisa, an iconic and enigmatic work of Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most famous portraits in history as well as one of the most famous works of art ever. Over the years, various scholars and art critics have tried to thoroughly analyze every aspect of the painting, trying to understand first and foremost who is the woman depicted with the enigmatic smile. For some time, however, the theory of the historian Riccardo Magnani has come forward , about the landscape that forms the background to the painting. Let’s see better what it is. LANDSCAPE CONSIDERATION– The studies conducted over the years, led to consider the landscape depicted in the painting as an imaginary scenario. From here other theories followed, which saw the attribution of the background to some landscape of Tuscany, where the Arno crosses the countryside of Arezzo and receives the waters of the Val di Chiana. Theories, in fact, which have left room for other possible intuitions. Since the historian Magnani is struck by the genius of Vinci, so much so that he is considered one of the most successful scholars of the artist, the theory of him who wants to attribute the landscape background to the territory of Lecco has come forward. “For years I have been dedicating myself to the study of Leonardo da Vinci and to his bond with our territory, and the hypothesis I put forward of a connection between the city of Lecco and the great artist has been known for several years now. What is less known are the historical and cultural reasons that led Leonardo to indicate the Lecco landscapes in his works; yes, in the plural. ”, explains Magnani alecconews . As he would like to point out, in fact, behind the Mona Lisa there is the Azzone Visconti bridge, while on its left stands the San Martino in the profile that can be seen from Calco . Leonardo da Vinci, moreover, and in Milan in 1483 and remained at the Sforza court until 1499. In this period of time he was fascinated by the Lecco mountains, so much so that he cited them in the Codex Atlanticus: mountains of Mandello, visine to the mountains of leche and gravidona “. THE LOMBARD LANDSCAPES– Therefore, the idea remains valid that attributes the landscape depicted not to that of the Tuscan or Umbrian lands, but to the city of Lecco. Despite this, the mistake lies in recognizing only the Azzone Visconti bridge, as even a superficial verification would have been enough to realize a much deeper bond. In fact, the entire lecchse landscape extends behind the Mona Lisa, between the left and right sides in a non-existent continuity. Thus, the landscape is made up of six different landscapes that branch off three to the right and three to the left. All the landscapes describe the eastern branch of the Lario, in a visual description that goes from north to south and are: view of the Adda da Calco / Brivio, the terminal part of the branch of Lake Lecco, with the Azzone Visconti bridge and the Monte Barro on the right, the Garlate lake, Olginate and the Brianza which opens towards Milan, observed from the Pizzini del San Martino, Mandello, observed from the Castle of Bellagio, the peaks of Olgiasca, Dervio and Bellano as well as observable from Gravedona. Another finding that would confirm Magnani’s theory lies in the shape of his dress, which with its unnatural flounces, would refer to the shape of the Larian Triangle, that is, that portion of territory between the two branches of the lake.
