I'm 266 i archaeological finds recovered from illicit trafficking in the USA and returned to Italy which have a great economic, historical and cultural value.
The archaeological finds returned to Italy
Still the outstanding activity of the corps of Carabinieri of the Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage brought back to Italy a series of priceless objects dating back to a period of time ranging fromVillanovan age (IX/VIII century BC), Etruscan civilization (VII/IV century BC), Magna Graecia (V/III century BC) up to the Roman imperial age (I-II century AD)stolen over time. The material is miscellaneous: in fact, there are amphorae, statues, plates, vases, busts, coins and entire marble slabs frescoed and decorated.
The synergy between Italy and the USA
The recovery of the precious archaeological finds was achieved thanks to the close collaboration between the Italian judiciary, the Carabinieri dell'Arte and Manhattan District Attorney's Office (DAO – District Attorney's Office of New York) under the supervision of Italian Ministry of Culture.
Items recovered
The economic value of the recovered objects is around tens of millions of euros.
Among the objects we find: 70 lots (a total of 145 pieces) forming part of the bankruptcy procedure against the English collector Robin Symes; 65 artifacts, already in the collection at the "Menil Collection Museum" in Houston (USA), spontaneously returned by the owner to the Ministry of Culture.
These various objects were in the United States in recent decades following illegal excavations, put up for sale by large international traffickers who wanted to resell them to the cultural heritage market and to the largest museums around the world.
The restitution ceremony
The ceremony took place At New York, in the office of the Public Prosecutor's Office with the participation of the Public Prosecutor Alvin L Bragg, the Adjunct Consul of Italy in New York, Cesare Bieller, the Commander of the Carabinieri TPC, Brigadier General Vincent Molinese, the DAO's Deputy Attorney of Manhattan, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, and HSI's Special Agent in Charge, Ivan J. Arvelo.
A further enrichment of the state patrimony
An action that has made it possible to return to the Italian state precious assets that increase their value even more. All realized after months of investigations. Another great success for our country and a heavy blow to counterfeiters.
These newly recovered finds go alongside the incunambulus written by Christopher Columbus from 1493, stolen in 1988 from the Marciana National Library in Venice.
cover photo from Pixaby