Two previously unseen paintings by Leonardo da Vinci have gone on public display for the first time in Italy. One is an alternative version of Da Vinci's famous painting known as Virgin of the Rocks, with the infant Jesus and the infant John the Baptist. The other shows Mary Magdalene, thought to have been completed by Leonardo with the help of one of his pupils about 1515, shortly before his death.

Both are being displayed at Ancona's Mole Vanvitelliana museum.

The semi-naked painting of Mary Magdalene - on a wooden panel - has fascinated critics and has only recently been discovered and authenticated, says the BBC's Rome correspondent, David Willey.

Previously attributed to Da Vinci's pupil Giampietrino it has been in private collections for nearly all its recorded history in the past 100 years.