1. Leonardo was the love child of Caterina, a peasant, and Ser Piero, a lawyer and landlord. He was homeschooled and lacked a formal education in Greek and Latin.
2. He was an accomplished lyre player. When he was first presented at the Milanese court, it was as a musician, not an artist or inventor.
3. Leonardo narrowly beat a sodomy rap—possibly involving one of his male models—brought against him by Florentine officials.
4. Mona Lisa theory #1: Her smile means she was secretly pregnant.
5. Theory #2: She was amused by the musicians and clowns who entertained her while Leonardo painted her. (Another theory says the Mona Lisa is a portrait of Leonardo himself, slyly disguised. But you'd heard that one before, hadn't you?)
6. Columbia University art historian James Beck retorts, "As sure as the moon is not made of green cheese, this is not da Vinci in ...
