Page 11 - mona lisat

Peruggia finally made an attempt to sell his

“treasure” in December 1913. Using the alias

“Leonard,” he sent a letter to a Florentine art dealer
named Alfredo Geri and informed him that he had

stolen the Mona Lisa and wanted to repatriate it to

Italy.

After conferring with Giovanni Poggi, director of

Uffizi Gallery, Geri invited Peruggia to Florence and

agreed to take a look at the painting.

A few days later, the three men gathered in

Peruggia’s hotel room, where he produced a
mysterious object wrapped in red silk. “We placed it

on the bed,” Geri later wrote, “and to our astonished

eyes the divine Mona Lisa appeared, intact and
marvelously preserved.” The Florentines

immediately arranged for the painting to be taken to

the Uffizi.

They also agreed to Peruggia’s 500,000-lire sales

price, but they had no intention of actually buying

the Mona Lisa. Instead, after having the portrait
authenticated, they reported the thief to the

authorities. On the afternoon of December 11, 1913,

police arrested Peruggia at his hotel.