Franceso, You Lucky Dog

Franceso del Giocondo, you are one lucky dude.

Does she always smile like that? C'mon, doesn't she give you "the look" from time to time?

Who was this Franceso del Giocondo guy, and who was this incredible wife of his? Hint: Here name was Lisa.

Mona Lisa, to be exact, says Spiegel:

The enigmatic smiling woman painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the sixteenth century has for long been known simply as the "Mona Lisa." But her true identity was a mystery, providing fodder for countless theories. Now a manuscript hidden away in a German library may have unlocked the key to her real name.

Heidelberg University library confirmed last Friday a German radio report that its researchers had discovered the true identity of the model in the famous 16th century portrait. She was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, Franceso del Giocondo.

The director of the university library, Veit Probst, said the mystery was unravelled after a book was found in the library archive that once belonged to a friend of da Vinci. In October of 1503 the Florentine official Agostino Vespuccui wrote a note in the margins of one page, saying that his friend was working on three paintings, one of them a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo.

A researcher named Dr. Armin Schlechter is credited with finding the letter. After all these years of anonymity,Mona Lisa may just be smiling on Schlechter today.