Leonardo's Vitruvian Man can go to the Louvre, court rules

Challenge by Italian heritage group threatened to disrupt deal with Paris museum

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man will join several works at a blockbuster exhibition on the Renaissance artist's life at the Louvre after an Italian court rejected an appeal against the drawing being lent to the Paris museum.

Italia Nostra, a heritage group, recently filed a complaint saying the drawing, which is kept in a climate-controlled vault at the Accademia Gallery of Venice, was too fragile to travel and risked being damaged by lighting in the Louvre if displayed for a long period.