Leonardo da Vinci may have died almost 500 years ago, but that doesn’t stop his art from making the news on a perpetual basis, or from being rediscovered.

Last week, amateur artist Ron Piccirillo claimed to have solved the mystery surrounding da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” at long last, pointing out what he believes to be clandestine animal forms in the image, as the key to understanding the portrait.

In a similarly Da Vinci Code-esque story, a group of art historians, organized by UC San Diego Professor Maurizio Seracini, believe that a lost da Vinci is hidden behind a 16th-century fresco created by Giorgio Vasari, famed biographer and artist, according to the Guardian.

The group was finally given permission to drill the Vasari fresco, at the Palazzo Vecchio, in an effort to see what lies beneath. Professor Seracini was inspired by the fact that in Vasari’s fresco, a soldier carries a flag reading, ”He who seeks, finds.”  

The lost da Vinci’s being sought is “The Battle of Anghiari,” of which preparatory cartoons still exist.  Some believe Vasari did not want to destroy the da Vinci masterpiece when he painted his own work, “The Battle of Marciano,” hence the decision to have “The Battle of Anghiari” bricked over, as opposed to painting directly over it.

The okay to drill the Vasari fresco took years to procure, and has provoked the outrage of many as Vasari is a renowned artist in his own right.  One expert on the project, art restorer Cecilia Frosinone, resigned when the go-ahead to drill was given. The situation shines a light on the ethical issues surrounding what can be perceived as privileging of one artwork to the detriment in the pursuit of art restoration and conservation.

While some drilling has taken place and a second wall confirmed, there is as yet no definitive evidence to show “The Battle of Anghiari“ has indeed been discovered.

If a work by da Vinci lies beneath Vasari's, it will join the ranks of only about 15 works known to survive by the master. Another recent rediscovery, his newly-authenticated "Salvator Mundi," is currently in the most comprehensive exhibition of da Vinci's work ever held, at London's National Gallery, through Feb. 5, 2012.

(Report: Christine Bolli for ARTFIXdaily)