Its central scene depicted four men riding raging war horses engaged in a battle for possession of a standard, at the Battle of Anghiari in 1440. In order to find the hidden fresco an endoscopica probe is used through the fresco of Giorgio Vasari “The Battle of Scannagallo”.
Since early 2007, the city council of Florence and the Italian Minister of Culture have given the green light for further investigation. The research is supported by City of Florence and National Geographic Society.
In recent research, professor Maurizio Seracini (USCD, University of California at San Diego) drilled 6 small holes through the fresco of Vasari, into the cavity behind and discovered fragments of pigment on the far wall.
Seracini believes that this is evidence for the remains of da Vinci’s fresco, but Seracini’s research is highly controversial with strong criticism being levelled against him for drilling the holes.
Prosecutor of Florence, Giuseppe Quattrocchi, opened an investigation after the complaint of the cultural association Italia Nostra. Carabinieri arrived in Salone de’ Cinquecento few weeks ago to verify the resarch, but it is going on, even if professor Seracini and Italian authorities decided no more holes in the fresco by Vasari.