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Italian writer, historian, and professor of the University of Naples Carlo Vecce in his new book "The Smile of Caterina", dedicated to the mother of the famous Leonardo da Vinci, said that she could be from Central Asia or the Caucasus.

According to the researcher himself, his work is based on deep academic research, including legal documents found in the state archive of Florence dated 1452, artnet.news reports.

According to the records, a lady named Caterina was a slave of the notary Piero, and gave birth to his son named Leonardo.

"When I saw this document, I couldn't believe my eyes. I never really trusted the theory that she was a slave from abroad. So, I spent months trying to prove that this Caterina was not Leonardo's mother in that notarial deed, but in the end all the documents I found went in that direction, and I gave up facing the evidence," the author tells NBC news.

It is also claimed that despite the fact that the name Caterina was quite common among Italians, it was the only one appearing in the acts of Piero, who freed his beloved.

Official history recognizes Caterina as a peasant slave who soon received freedom. Leonardo himself, being the firstborn, had to follow the footsteps of his father and become a notary, like five representatives of previous generations.

ORIENT news

Photo: news.artnet.com