Reuters

A file photo of Leonardo da Vinci's original "Mona Lisa" (L) which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, and a recently discovered and restored copy of the "Mona Lisa" painting as it was displayed at Madrid's El Prado Museum is seen in this combination photo Feb. 1, 2012.

AP reports: A "Mona Lisa" copy owned by Spain's Prado Museum was almost certainly painted by one of Leonardo da Vinci's apprentices alongside the master himself as he did the original, museum officials said Wednesday.

The stunning find of what the Prado now says is probably the earliest known copy of La Gioconda will give art lovers and experts an idea of what the Mona Lisa looked like back in the 16th century, said Gabriele Finaldi, the museum's deputy director collections.

The copy has been part of the Prado collection for years and displayed occasionally but no one paid much attention to it because around the woman in the Mona Lisa was a stark black background, not the pretty landscape seen in the original.

DigitalGlobe

A satellite image shows the wreck of the Costa Concordia off the island of Giglio, Italy, on Jan. 17, 2012. The luxury cruise ship ran aground on Jan. 13.

The Costa Concordia had more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into a reef Friday off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio. At least 23 remained unaccounted for Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The captain in charge of the specialist divers searching the stricken vessel told NBC News that they need to blow four more holes in it to gain access to the bottom of the cruise ship. 

Read more about the rescue and recovery operation and see more images of the disaster on PhotoBlog or in the slideshow below.

For more fresh perspectives on the world, take a look back at the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar.

Slideshow: Luxury cruise ship runs aground

Andreas Solaro / AFP - Getty Images

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