According to an exhaustive investigation of the da Vinci family’s historical documents, 14 live male descendants of the great painter have been found, a finding that has the potential to answer all of these issues.

The research is part of a decades-long effort to track down da Vinci’s ancestors in order to solve some long-standing riddles surrounding the 15th-century genius, who never had his own children.

Art historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato are leading the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project. In 2016, Vezzosi and Sabato revealed 35 claimed da Vinci male and female descendants, including Oscar-nominated filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019. Two males from the Vinci family’s ingle branch, up to the 19th generation, were included in the 2016 announcement.

The work establishes a continuous male line from father to son, which is crucial for genetic research. The Y chromosome, which is handed down through male descendants, is known to be nearly unaltered across 25 generations. The Y chromosome of today’s male relatives may be compared to those of their forefathers at ancient and current burial places to confirm the family line and certify da Vinci’s own Y-chromosome marker.

The researchers claim to have traced the da Vinci male line from “progenitor” Michele (born before 1331), to Leonardo (born 1452), and onward – providing a five-branch family tree. Da Vinci had at least 22 half-brothers, despite the fact that he had no children. From his father Ser Piero (5th generation) and half-brother Domenico, five familial branches may be identified (6th). Data on over 225 people has been collected since the 15th generation.