There’s always one thing new to learn in Vatican City. Anthony Zonfrell, 20, a visitor to the holy city did a double consider when he saw Sylvester Stallone in one of Raphael’s masterpieces.

Ok, so it wasn’t genuinely Stallone. But the guy who brought to life “Rocky,” “Rambo” — and is reprising his role in “The Expendables 2″ this summer — does bear more than a passing resemblance to an unnamed onlooker in a 1511 painting of Pope Gregory IX approving the Vatical Decretals.

Note the cheekbones. Note the heavy eyelids. Note the nose, the hair, the chiseled chin. Heck, every thing about the holy man in the painting appears like Sly.

It is interesting to note that Stallone is himself a painter.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a current celebrity was believed to resemble an individual from way back when. Some wonder if Jack Black and Paul Revere are one and the identical. A year or so ago, someone discovered an old photograph of a Civil War soldier who looked a great deal like Nicolas Cage.

In an interview with David Letterman, Cage acknowledged the similarities, but insisted that he wasn’t a time traveler from the 19th century.

Stallone’s publicist had no comment.

Sources and more information:

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