Italy actively fighting theft of works of art
Italy intensifying the fight against art theft and illegal archaeological excavations. Last year, the value returned by the police state of art and antiquities has increased more than twofold: it is estimated at 183 million euros, while in 2007 this figure was only 82 million. This was recently announced at a press conference in Rome, General military police of Italy, Giovanni Nistru (Giovanni Nistri).
Figures do not include the cost of those copies that have been voluntarily returned to the country by foreign museums and collectors.
Italy has a very rich archaeological heritage. The entire peninsula presents for scholars and artists of great interest. Here you can find and Etruscan tombs and the remains of Roman villas, and more. In recent years, the country is actively encouraged the repatriation of items that were allegedly smuggled exported abroad from the field of illegal excavations. Some of them even have been in the collections of the most famous museums in the world.
According to the representatives of the Italian police, the number of recorded locations of illegal excavations in 2008 grew by 15 per cent to 238. They are mainly concentrated in the outskirts of Rome.
One of the most recent discoveries were made on 19 December. In a mobile van parked outside the Italian capital, police found 10 pictures that were stolen in 2004 from the XII century Basilica of Santo Spiritu Sassi Institute in Rome. The most expensive of them turned out to be «Madonna with the Baby Jesus», executed in oil on wood, which atributiruetsya XVI century artist Francesco Matstsola (Francesco Mazzola), better known as Parmigianino (Parmigianino). According to Giovanni Nistru, all the work was «how to be packaged and prepared for export from Italy».
Ministry of Culture of the country in conjunction with the Carabinieri unit has also made a statement that returns a 2, 200 archaeological finds in Bulgaria. These items (mostly antique coins) found in Italy in 2005, as it turned out to have been stolen and taken out of Bulgaria.
material produced Catherine Onuchin
Sources: , artinvestment.ru
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