Tests on the remains in Petrarch's tomb show that the skull was replaced by a woman's, researchers reported Thursday. Where's Petrarch's skull? "Don't ask me," said project leader Vito Terribile Wiel Marin. "Think of all the craniums in the world -- where would we look? Our only hope now is to make an appeal in the hope that someone who is the descendant of the thief might return it anonymously."

According to Marin, physical marks, including evidence of a leg injury, confirm that the other bones are Petrarch's. The skull is being sent to the United States for carbon dating, to determine when it was placed in the tomb.

Celebrations are planned for this July in Arqua-Petrarca, the village where Petrarch died in 1374, as well as nearby Padua, to celebrate the 700th anniversary of his birth.

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SCAtoday.net's Managing News Editor, Milica, found a related article at the following URL:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/04/06/wpet06.xml