‘Sylvester Stallone’ spotted in 16th century painting

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/SK5uGh2LOnQaO5vJekRi2A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTQwMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/movietalk/400-raphael-stallone-jpg_194356.jpg(Photo: Everett Collection)There's always something new to discover in Vatican City. Anthony Zonfrell, 20, a visitor to the holy city did a double take when he saw Sylvester Stallone in one of Raphael's masterpieces.

OK, so it wasn't really Stallone. But the man 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, everything about the holy man in the painting looks like Sly.

[Photos: 'Expendables 2' movie stills]

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

Of course, this isn't the first time a current celebrity was thought to resemble someone from way back when. Some wonder if Jack Black and Paul Revere are one and the same. A year or so ago, somebody discovered an old photo of a Civil War soldier who looked a lot 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.