Leonardo's mystery Mona Lisa workshop discovered,

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One of the enduring mysteries of the Renaissance has been resolved with the discovery of the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, it was announced yesterday.

The workshop, where Leonardo painted and drew in the early 1500s, is in the monastery of Santissima Annunziata, in the centre of Florence.

It is decorated with frescoes thought to be by Leonardo and his students. It was here that Leonardo is likely to have met the woman who inspired the "Mona Lisa".

His workshop was discovered during restoration of part of the monastery occupied for the past 100 years by the Institute of Military Geography.

Cristina Acidini, head of conservation and restoration in Florence, said it was an ''emotional moment'' when the workshop was found.

Akessando Vezzosi, a leading Leonardo expert, has said that the discovery of the workshop will enable scholars better to understand the context of which Leonardo worked.