Music found in da Vinci's 'Last Supper'

ROME, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- An Italian musician purports to have discovered a musical score hidden within Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper."

Giovanni Maria Pala will publish his findings next week in his book, "La Musica Celata," which translates a "The Hidden Music," Discovery News reports.

Pala says his book is not a spin-off of Dan Brown's 2003 conspiracy novel, "The Da Vinci Code."

"I've always been intrigued by the possibility of finding a (piece of) music in 'The Last Supper,' but I would have never imagined to find myself decoding a secret message by Leonardo," Pala said in an interview with Discovery News.

Pala was first drawn to horizontal and vertical lines on the tablecloth in the painting.

His first attempt at deciphering the musical clues failed. But then he noticed the apostles grouped in threes -- giving him the idea the piece should be played in 3/4-time -- and that the hands' location in relation to bread on the table provided the score.

"I couldn't believe my ears when I played the music. It sounded really solemn, almost like a requiem," Pala said.

The musician also claims to have discovered a chalice and Hebrew writings hidden in the 15th century masterpiece.