Experts are examining whether a painting belonging to the Catholic priestly order of the Jesuits in Rome is the work of Italian master Caravaggio, the Vatican newspaper said Saturday.
The L'Osservatore Romano article appeared as several Rome churches and museums housing works by Caravaggio planned to extend opening hours in an "all-nighter" to mark the 400th anniversary of his death, dpa reported.
The painting identified by the Vatican newspaper, depicts the martyrdom of the 3rd century Saint Lawrence of Rome, who was reputedly burned or "grilled" to death in 258 during a persecution of Christians ordered by the Emperor Valerian.
The painting's authentication as a work of Caravaggio "still awaits an official guarantee," said art historian Lydia Salviucci Insolera, who wrote the L'Osservatore Romano article.
"What is certain is that the painting is stylistically impeccable ... What is notable is the light and the dark background ... " Salviucci Insolera wrote.
She stressed the painting shared certain important similarities with several Caravaggio masterpieces, including the Conversion of Saint Paul, The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, and, Judith beheading Holofernes - all of which are housed in churches or museums in Rome.
The article did not say where the painting is being kept nor did it provide other details.
From dusk on Saturday until Sunday morning, visitors can enter for free Rome's Borghese Gallery, which houses such masterpieces as David with the head of Goliath and Boy with a basket of fruit.
Also open will be three central Rome churches - Santa Maria del Popolo, Sant'Agostino and San Luigi dei Francesi - which house some half-dozen Caravaggio paintings, including the Crucifixion of St. Peter in Santa Maria del Popolo.
Caravaggio, whose real name was Michelangelo Merisi, was born in 1571 in Milan, but much of his short and tortured career - the artist was a notorious street brawler - was tied to Rome where he initially won fame and the patronage of aristocrats and cardinals.
Many of his paintings showcase his groundbreaking use of "chiaroscuro," a technique that achieves a stark realism by dramatically contrasting light and shadow.
His works pioneered what became known as the Baroque school and several adorn some of Rome's most famous churches and palaces.
But following an incident in which he killed a man, Caravaggio was forced to flee the city in 1606.
He spent his last years restlessly moving between Malta, Sicily and Naples, winning new painting commissions, but also making new, and sometimes powerful enemies.
He died in 1610, either at the hands of unknown assassins, or, as some other research suggests, of malaria on the Tuscan beach of Porto Ercole.