Modern day Turkey, or Türkiye as it is now known, has always been important as the crossroads of East and West. Istanbul, its capital until 1923, lies on the Bosphorus Strait, which is less than one kilometre wide at its narrowest. Like other narrow straits of water between two or more continents, it is a highly desirable piece of real estate. Control of such a narrow passage confers power over those who wish to use it.

The painting of Mona Lisa owes some of its fame and enduring quality to the mystery built up around it in popular culture. We see a woman sitting on a balcony against the backdrop of a view, smiling. On the surface of it, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about that…or is there?

Few cities are as closely associated with a single genius as Florence is with Leonardo da Vinci. While researching Gioconda, I followed the places that shaped Leonardo’s early life, from the hills of Vinci to the workshop where he first learned his craft.