(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 23 - A total of 60 archaeological finds were repatriated from the USA to Italy where they had been marketed by traffickers of international works of art.
The works, worth over 20 million dollars, are back in Italy thanks to the collaboration between the Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale (TPC) and the New York County District Attorney's Office (DAO).
Among the finds recovered a Pompeian fresco depicting the proceeds of clandestine excavations in the Vesuvius area: the Child Hercules with snake, dating back to the 1st century AD "It is a great success against illicit trafficking" comments Minister Sangiuliano.
The recovered assets are in fact the result of the looting of Italian archaeological sites fueled by unscrupulous traffickers: works that remained for years in museums, private homes and foreign galleries without any ownership rights.
Some finds had converged into private US collections, such as that of one of the greatest collectors of ancient art in the world,
which has now been imposed, an unprecedented fact, a lifetime ban on buying antiquities.
In order to unmask the criminals, in addition to the investigative work of the armed forces and the competent US authorities, the technical-scientific contribution of the experts of the Ministry of Culture and the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for judicial and police cooperation were also needed, at the basis of the identification, recovery and return of the finds, the result of the collaboration provided by the American institutions with the Italian ones.
(HANDLE).
weapon and the competent US Authorities also served the technical-scientific contribution of the experts of the Ministry of Culture and the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for judicial and police cooperation, at the basis of the identification, recovery and return of the finds, the result of the collaboration provided by the American institutions to those Italian.
(HANDLE).
weapon and the competent US Authorities also served the technical-scientific contribution of the experts of the Ministry of Culture and the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for judicial and police cooperation, at the basis of the identification, recovery and return of the finds, the result of the collaboration provided by the American institutions to those Italian.
(HANDLE).
