Mona Lisa

is, in fact, a geological argument against the biblical story of creation in that the landscape in the background symbolizes how the Arno Valley (the landscape of Da Vinci’s childhood) looked in earlier geological time, before it was shaped by the power of water.

The life cycle and the female role in creation is still only half the story of the Mona Lisa. The other half, often overlooked, is the primeval landscape in front of which she is sitting. Most people assume that this was a product of Leonardo's fertile imagination, but there's increasing evidence it was inspired by the landscape of his childhood, the Arno Valley. On the right side of Mona Lisa's elbow, there's a bridge that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Buriano bridge which crosses the Arno river near Arezzo. And just a few miles up the road is another remarkable connection with the Mona Lisa that locals call: "The Valley of Hell". It's a series of dramatic rock outcrops rising hundreds of feet into the air, not unlike the great pinnacles to be found in Monument Valley, Arizona. So what is going on here? According to geologist Dr Cherry Lewis, the Mona Lisa corresponds closely to Leonardo's theory of creation, which challenged the biblical story of Genesis, and represents an ancient, geological vision of how the Arno Valley once looked. The two great lakes, the river flowing from the mountains cutting its way through the valley and making its way to the sea in a grand, continuous, hydrological cycle all match Leonardo's observations about how the landscape we see today was shaped by the power of water. Many regard him as the father of geology as a modern science.

Cherry LewisThinkers

Cherry Lewis