Caravaggio "FOUND"

Experts are hoping to announce a scoop to mark the 400 th centenary of Caravaggios death by identifying his remains, located in a mass grave in the crypt of the cemetery of Porta Ercole (Tuscany). The circumstances of the turbulent artists death are a mystery, but it is known that he had sailed from Naples to the port of Palo Laziale, north of Rome, to ask the Popes pardon for a murder he had committed during a tavern brawl and died somewhere in the area.

By analysing the bones of 200 skeletons lumped together in the cemetery, experts from the Universities of Bologna and Salerno believe 85% to have found the bones of Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio. They say that the age of death coincides (between 39-40 years old), the height (over 1.70m) and that the bones are the only ones to contain high concentrations of lead, which was a component of the colours the painter used.

Meanwhile, a major exhibition of Caravaggios works at the Scuderie del Quirinale Museum in Rome, has closed with a record number of visitors. The estimated final count is 580 thousand visitors, with total takings of 4 million against costs of 2 million.  

Posted on 25 Jun 2010 by Editor
Powered by CuteNews