The almost 11 cm high figurine from Willendorf is one of the most important examples of early art in Europe. It is made of a rock called 'oolite' which is not found in or around Willendorf. Anthropologist, geologists and prehistorians have now found out, with the help of high-resolution tomographic images, that the material from which the Venus was carved likely comes from northern Italy. This sheds new light on the remarkable mobility of the first modern humans south and north of the Alps.