20 Unknown Michelangelo Works Discovered in Roman Secret Room

Independent researcher Valentina Salerno has uncovered evidence of 20 previously unknown works by Michelangelo Buonarroti, hidden in a secret room in his former Roman home at Macel de' Corvi, near Piazza Venezia. The discovery, announced in an interview with Il Messaggero, stems from a document describing a cubicle where Michelangelo's students hid precious items using a multiple-key system. The room has been empty for 400 years, but the document now enables a search for the missing collection. Separately, a Michelangelo red chalk drawing, "Study for a foot of the Libyan Sibyl" (1511-12), sold at Christie's New York on February 5 for $27 million, a world record for a Michelangelo drawing, far exceeding its $1.5-2 million estimate. The drawing, one of about 600 surviving Michelangelo drawings and among the last in private hands, was rediscovered during a valuation request. Salerno's research was corroborated by Christie's. She collaborated with Professor Michele Rak and the Canonici Regolari Lateranensi del Santissimo Salvatore.