Restorers have unearthed lost sketches by Leonardo da Vinci from the walls of an Italian castle, it has been revealed.
The mural, which is one of the original paintings from the 15th century, covers the vault and walls of the Sala delle Asse in the Sforza Castle in Milan and depicts a garden pergola made of 16 mulberry trees bound together by a knotted golden rope, Fox News reported.
Restorers believe that they might be able to bring to light extra sections of the original work now, and would possibly be able to provide further insights into Da Vinci's vision of the highly symbolic decoration
The work, which was commissioned in 1498 by the duke of Milan, Ludovico Maria Sforza, was executed by Leonardo and his assistants.
Experts have agreed that the master's hand can be detected in a monochrome section of the fresco on the northeast and northwest corner of the room and the apparently unfinished work depicts sturdy roots bursting through rocks.
The Opificio Pietre Dure (OPD), the Florence based institute who is carrying out the restoration, have written in a report that larger parts of this mural can be recovered beneath several layers of whitewash.
Marco Ciatti, superintendent of the OPD art restoration institute, said that preliminary analysis has produced very interesting results and has lend hope the work will recover "important parts of the preparatory drawings".