14 living descendants of Leonardo da Vinci discovered in Tuscany

A decade-long genealogical study has identified 14 living descendants of Leonardo da Vinci, ranging in age from 1 to 85, residing in the Tuscan areas of Vinci and Versilia. The research, published in the journal Human Evolution, reconstructs 21 generations of Leonardo's family tree from 1331 to the present. The study was led by Alessandro Vezzosi, founder of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci, and Agnese Sabato, president of the Associazione Leonardo Da Vinci Heritage. Unlike a 2016 study that found 35 indirect descendants (including filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli), these 14 individuals are direct male-line descendants through Leonardo's father Ser Piero and half-brother Domenico. Their DNA will be analyzed in the coming months as part of the international 'The Leonardo Da Vinci DNA Project', chaired by Jesse Ausubel of the Rockefeller University in New York. The Y chromosome, passed down through male lines and remaining nearly unchanged for 25 generations, is key to reconstructing Leonardo's genetic profile. The descendants work in ordinary professions such as clerk, surveyor, and artisan.