The museum’s research and restoration institute confirmed Da Vinci was ambidextrous by analysing a drawing known only as Landscape (8P).

The drawing is believed to be his earliest work, dated 1473, when the renowned Renaissance artist was 21 years old.

The drawing of the Arno river and the castle of Montelupo, located just outside Florence, features two handwritten text inscriptions: one on the front, written backwards, and another on the back, written left to right.

The inscription on the front gives the date, while the brief script on the back alludes to an informal contract.

Researchers proved that both inscriptions were done by the artist, who “used his left hand to write the inscription in ‘mirror writing’ on the front, while he used his right hand to pen the inscription on the back in ordinary writing,” the Uffizi said in a statement.

“Leonardo was born left-handed but he was ‘re-educated’ at a very early age to use the right hand,” art historian Cecilia Frosinini said.

“From an observation of his handwriting, including the inscriptions on this drawing, it is clear that his writing as a right-hander was both cultivated and well-formed.

“Leonardo was eminently capable of using his right hand... Our hypothesis is that the idea came to him from his observation of the writing in reverse on the tracing paper that he used for his drawings after turning them over.”

The scientific analysis also revealed a second sketch on the back of the original work.

Not much ink is visible on the back, but infrared light revealed that another landscape depicting a river crossed by a bridge was originally drawn there using charcoal.

It was not clear if Leonardo had rubbed the paper clean or if the charcoal had simply faded over time.

The groundbreaking findings were announced a month ahead of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo, with museums around Europe organising exhibitions and events to celebrate the life of the man responsible for masterpieces such as as the Mona Lisa.

The studied artwork will return to Leonardo’s birthplace, the Tuscan town of Vinci, for the occasion.