US returns $80 million-worth of stolen treasures to Italy

After many years of waiting and long investigations, the United States recently returned to Italy some 600 archaeological pieces from different periods ranging from the 9th century BC to the 2nd century AD.

This treasure, which has an estimated value of $80 million (60 million euros), according to the Italian Ministry of Culture, includes various objects: coins, paintings, documents, bronze statues, manuscripts, mosaics and vases.

The artefacts were stolen over time by thieves and by those who in Italian are defined as “tombaroli” (tomb raiders), who remove objects from graves and ancient archaeological sites to sell them.

These artefacts arrived illegally in museums and famous art galleries in the US, but they also ended up in the hands of international art collectors and traffickers.

Photo: Alex Simpson / Unsplush

Some arrived in the Getty Center in Los Angeles, a place that has long been considered the museum "of looters." Even its historic curator was called to trial in Italy for trafficking in stolen artefacts, according to Italian newspaper Il Post.

Photo: Samuel Lu / Unsplush

As the Italian Ministry of Culture explained, the assets returned are historical-scientific testimonies of the Villanova, Etruscan, Magno-Greek, Samnite, Apulian and Roman-Imperial cultures, from the regions of Lazio, Campania, Apulia, Calabria and Sicily.

But exactly what treasures did the US stole and gave back to Italy? A statement from the Italian Ministry of Culture details it.

Multiple vases from the Villanova culture, buccheros and Etruscan painted slabs, amphorae and kraters, silver cups, marble and bronze heads.

Two oval oil paintings from the 16th century stolen on February 25, 1997 from a private home in Cucciago (Como), and located at an auction house in Los Angeles.

Archaeological gold coins, stolen on July 3, 2009 from the National Archaeological Museum of Parma. They were found at different auctions in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Puerto Rico.

And a silver Naxos from the 4th century BC, depicting the wine god Dionysus on the obverse and Silenus on the reverse. Stolen in illicit excavations before 2013 in Sicily. It was located in New York in 2023, where it was for sale for $500,000.

A mosaic floor depicting the myth of Orpheus enchanting wild animals with the sound of the lyre, dated to the mid-3rd-4th century AD. It was in the private collection of a well-known New York collector, and came from illicit excavations in Sicily.

All of these assets were recovered thanks to the collaboration and investigations of the Carabineros for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC), as well as Italian and New York prosecutors' offices and the US Department of Homeland Security.

As explained in a statement by the Italian Ministry of Culture, to recover the art, they used the ‘Database of Illegally Stolen Cultural Assets’, the world's largest archive of stolen art. The database includes more than 7 million objects, of which 1,315,000 are still to be recovered.

This archive uses an artificial intelligence tool, which continuously searches the web and social networks for stolen works of art.

Thanks to this AI tool, in 2023, 105,474 stolen artistic assets were recovered, for an estimated value of more than 264 million euros.

“Today is a beautiful day for the cultural heritage of the Nation,” said the Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano. “Returning these assets to Italy will heal many wounds that have opened over the years in the territories where they were stolen, depriving communities of important pieces of their identity.”

The undersecretary of culture also expressed his satisfaction. "In addition to being works of art of incalculable value, they represent the highest expression of our history, our culture and our national identity," he said.

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.