which analyzed all the da Vinci paintings in its collection." In mid-2012, efforts to investigate the cavity behind Vasari's fresco were discontinued, due to the conflicting views of interested parties, as to whether and how to proceed. Alfonso Musci and Alessandro Savorelli published an article in the journal of the Italian Institute of Renaissance Studies at Palazzo Strozzi in December 2012, disputing Seracini's interpretation of the motto on the green flag in Vasari's mural. In the article they attempted to investigate the writing “CERCA TROVA” in the context of the real events that occurred during the Battle of Scannagallo (1554) and made known through the works of , Antonio , . These works contain detailed descriptions of anti-Medicean heraldic insignia present in Marciano della Chiana, including eight green flags embroidered with the verse of Dante: ", ch'è sì cara come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta" () and the ancient coat of arms "Libertas" in golden. These banners had been delivered by Henry II of France to the troops of the Florentine exiles, armed by the Republican banker Bindo Altoviti and led by Piero Strozzi and Giambattista Altoviti. After the defeat of the Republicans and of the French troops, these green flags would have become spoils of the winners, and handed over to Grand Duke Cosimo I. They would have been publicly displayed in the central nave of the Basilica of San Lorenzo. Following the theme of luck and damnation of the oldest Florentine 'stemma' (Libertas) in the cycle of paintings conceived by Cosimo I and Vincenzo Borghini in the Salone dei Cinquecento, Musci and Savorelli suggest that the motto "CERCA TROVA" was an allusion to the verse of Dante and to the fate of the Republicans ("searching freedom and finding death"), and thereby dispute Seracini's interpretation of the green flag as a hint left by Vasari. In October 2020, a group of art historians concluded that the painting had never been executed on the basis that Leonardo failed to invent a technique for it, which would have included a layer of gesso and oil. Seracini has not accepted their conclusions. References Further reading Looking for Leonardo, With Camera in Hand, The New York Times, 26 August 2011 M. Pieraccini, D. Mecatti, G. Luzi, M. Seracini, G. Pinelli and C. Atzeni, Non-contact intrawall penetrating radar for Heritage survey: the search of the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci, NDT&E