A century-old Florence tomb opened by researchers on Friday contained remains that could identify the woman who's portrayed in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Reuters reported yesterday.

The family crypt belongs to a Florentine silk merchant Fracncesco del Giocondo, whose wife Lisa Gherardini is believed to be the woman in the famous Renaissance painting.

Plans are allegedly being discussed to have the bones tested for DNA to see if it matches with three woman buried at a nearby convent where Gherardini spent her last years. It's believed that one of the women could be Gherardini.

"For centuries, historians the world over have been coming up with various theories about who this enigmatic, mysterious woman could have been," Silvano Vinceti, head of Italy's National Committee for the Promotion of Historic and Cultural Heritage, reportedly told journalists.

If a DNA match is found between bones in the crypt and bones from the convent, the skull of the bones believed to be Gheradini will be compared with the painting.

It reportedly could take a year before DNA testing begins, Reuters reported.

"If we succeed, we can finally resolve three questions which have obsessed historians and art-lovers worldwide," Vinceti said. "Was Gherardini the model for the Mona Lisa? Or was it some other model, as some people say? Or is it just a construction of the painter's fantasy?"

One of the famous traits of the painting is the Mona Lisa's smile. Leonardo-da-vinci.paintings.name wrote, "Returning to the Mona Lisa, some people wonder why it is that her facial expression seems to change depending on the direction from which you look at her." The blog post continues, "Given the fact that Da Vinci manages to capture so many different emotions and character-traits in one painting, it seems natural that every time one looks at the Mona Lisa, one sees something different."