The Mysteries Of The Mortal Remains Of Genii: Da Vinci And Mozart
In every period throughout human history men and women have disappeared under unknown or mysterious circumstances. These disappearances present some of the most intriguing historical puzzles ranging from suspected political assassinations, to less complicated cases where people simply go sailing and are tragically, never heard of again. The list of famous people who have disappeared mysteriously and have never been found, includes explorers, monarchs and leaders, philosophers and scientists, heroes and outlaws.
Presumed self-portrait of Leonardo (c. 1510) at the Royal Library of Turin, Italy (Public Domain) and Mozart aged 14 by Giambettino Cignaroli (Public Domain)
Modern Disappearances
If one was to compile a list of missing famous historical people in more modern times, perhaps the most famous inclusion from American history would be the celebrity fashion designer and aviator, Amelia Earhart, who mysteriously disappeared attempting a round-the-world flight. If Amelia's disappearance is not at the top of the American list of missing famous people, then Dan. B. Cooper certainly is after his shenanigans on Thanksgiving Eve 1971. On board Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, Cooper claimed to have been in possession of explosives and demanded $200,000, four parachutes and a refueling truck upon landing at Sea-Tac. After he had skyjacked the plane he jumped out and was never seen again.
Disappearing persons is not a new phenomenon, for stepping back in time, the bodies of England's King Edward V, Greece’s Alexander the Great and the brutal ruler of the Huns, Attila, have all gone AWOL. While many articles, books, websites and documentaries cover the top 10 missing-persons, among these ranks there are two historical giants, both genii in their own right, whose graves can never be visited, because nobody really knows what happened to their bodies. They are none other than Leonardo da Vinci and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Landscape of the Arno Valley by Leonardo Da Vinci (1473). (Public Domain)
The Bones Of Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 at Vinci, a small town high up on Mount Albano, in the valley of the Arno River, near the city of Florence, Italy. He lived during the Renaissance and died on May 2, 1519. Trained to be an artist by the sculptor and painter Verrocchio, Da Vinci is credited as an accomplished painter, anatomist, botanist, sculptor, mathematician, engineer, inventor, architect and musician. Between 1478 to 1482 Da Vinci obtained his own studio and became the court artist for Lodvico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and he would live in Milan city for 17 years. In 1512 AD, when the French lost Milan to the Swiss, he moved to Rome where he stayed until his health started to fail.
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At the age of 65 Leonardo da Vinci moved to France to work for King Francis I and he left Italy forever at the end of 1516. It was on May 2, 1519 that the living engine of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, died. The artistic achievements of Da Vinci are relatively well known, for example, two of the best-known paintings in the world: the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and his drawing Vitruvian Man, but who he was as a person still remains a mystery. And so too, does the whereabouts of his mortal remains.
