Two hundred works of art return home from the USA

ROME - There is the great and pot-bellied Etruscan Pithos of the 7th century BC arriving from the Getty, with Polyphemus twisted with pain while Ulysses blinds him. The Pestano bell krater on which Python, a ceramographer in great vogue in Magna Graecia, has forever imprinted Dionysus with a satyr. And then the black-figure Attic hydria with Herakles fighting the Nemean lion, between Athena, Hermes and Iolao. In addition to an expanse of marble sculptures, terracotta heads, antefixes, craters, vases and amphorae, jugs and silver coins. In all, 201 highly prized and unique pieces that over the last few decades had ended up in the United States, traded by international traffickers and acquired, sometimes after various changes of hands, by museums, auction houses, antique galleries and private collectors. But which on December 15 in New York were returned to theItaly by the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus Vance, and who have finally returned home today, thanks to the Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, who have investigated those finds for years together with their colleagues from Fbi and Hsi.

A "booty" whose value, says the Tpc Carabinieri Commander, General Roberto Riccardi, "can be estimated at around 10 million euros", including works of art and objects of common use dating back to the Roman, Etruscan, Magna Graecia and Appula civilization , whose dating is between the eighth century BC and the first century AD Of these, 40 will have to wait a little longer, remained on display until March at the Consulate General of Italy in New York and the Italian Cultural Institute, like the spectacular marble head of the II. AD which portrays the emperor Septimius Severus. "Fruit" of the armed robbery perpetrated by unknown persons on November 18, 1985 in the Antiquarium of the amphitheater of Santa Maria Capua Vetere (CE), it was about to be auctioned with a base worth 700 thousand dollars. "An extraordinary recovery of absolute masterpieces - comments the Minister of Culture Dario Franceshcini - whose value, however, is not only economic, but also identifying and cultural. It will be even more evident as soon as we bring them back to the museums of the territories from which they come, feeding the widespread museum that is Italy ". And it is also, he adds," an operation that fully falls within the principles of the Rome Declaration, the final document of the G20 of culture which provides for the international commitment to collaborate in combating the illicit trafficking of works of art. We have always been at the forefront of this issue. The work of our carabinieri is of great importance, recognized all over the world ".it is not only economic, but identity and cultural. It will be even more evident as soon as we bring them back to the museums of the territories from which they come, feeding the widespread museum that is Italy ". And it is also, he adds," an operation that fully falls within the principles of the Rome Declaration, the final document of the G20 of culture which provides for the international commitment to collaborate in combating the illicit trafficking of works of art. We have always been at the forefront of this issue. The work of our carabinieri is of great importance, recognized all over the world ".it is not only economic, but identity and cultural. It will be even more evident as soon as we bring them back to the museums of the territories from which they come, feeding the widespread museum that is Italy ". And it is also, he adds," an operation that fully falls within the principles of the Rome Declaration, the final document of the G20 of culture which provides for the international commitment to collaborate in combating the illicit trafficking of works of art. We have always been at the forefront of this issue. The work of our carabinieri is of great importance, recognized all over the world ".an operation that fully falls within the principles of the Rome Declaration, the final document of the G20 on culture which provides for the international commitment to collaborate in combating the illicit trafficking of works of art. We have always been at the forefront of this issue. The work of our carabinieri is of great importance, recognized all over the world ".an operation that fully falls within the principles of the Rome Declaration, the final document of the G20 on culture which provides for the international commitment to collaborate in combating the illicit trafficking of works of art. We have always been at the forefront of this issue. The work of our carabinieri is of great importance, recognized all over the world ".

The operation in the US arrives in fact for the Tpc carabinieri after the successes of Operation Taras (over 2 thousand assets of the ancient civilizations of Puglia and Basilicata) and after the 782 archaeological finds of the Daunian civilization repatriated from Belgium. But above all at the end of a 2021 that overall saw the recovery of 23,363 archaeological and paleontological assets and 1,693 seized false works (for a value, if placed on the market as authentic, of over 427 million euros). In all, 261 security checks were carried out in museums, libraries and archives and 549 searches with 1,182 people reported, against 334 thefts of cultural assets, mainly to the detriment of places of worship (122) and private individuals (90), but also museums and exhibition sites (12 and 83), archives (11) and libraries (16). They were then 1.700 checks were carried out on land and marine archaeological areas (also with the CC of the Aircraft Group or the Underwater Nuclei) with 57 reported for clandestine excavation. And again, 2,617 checks at antiques and 392 at markets and fairs; 1,811 those to monumental or landscape sites with the referral of 225 people and seizure of 10 properties and 25 areas and structures (built without the required authorizations) in areas subject to restrictions. "The pandemic? Everything happened differently, even for the grave robbers - says General Ricciardi - Many of the art trades have moved online. There is no longer a direct relationship between fencing and merchant, but the exhibition of objects through telematic channels. Our task is to chase them wherever they are: if they are on the territory we must be there,if they move on web platforms we must know how to monitor them. Our tool, the most powerful database in the world with 8 million files ".