The hunt for Caravaggio's bones

The Associated Press reports that mystery swirls around the death of the great Italian painter Caravaggio, who died at age 39 after a dissipated life of street brawls, brothels, and boozing. Now, as art lovers mark the 400th anniversary of the artist's death in this beach town on the Tuscan coast, researchers are digging for answers. Descending into a dark crypt one recent day, researcher Antonio Moretti took his shovel to a waist-high pile of centuries-old skulls and bones, the mass grave that scholars have homed in on as the likely final resting place of Michelangelo Merisi — better known as Caravaggio. Moretti and a team of fellow scientists and art academics hope to find the bones, conduct carbon and DNA testing and discover how Caravaggio died. The project has drawn a measure of skepticism since so much time has passed since the artist's death. Caravaggio died in Porto Ercole in July 1610. For a long time, he was believed to have simply collapsed on the beach. But the team says documents show that Caravaggio was taken to a hospital in Porto Ercole upon his arrival and died there a few days later. To this day, his remains are missing. For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art