In a significant cultural and diplomatic event, Italy officially welcomed back 600 antiquities from the United States on Tuesday. These treasures, valued collectively at $65 million, had been looted years ago and found their way into the collections of various museums, galleries, and private collectors. The recovered items include ancient gold coins, intricate mosaics, valuable manuscripts, and exquisite bronze statues, all unearthed through an extensive criminal investigation.
The antiquities were ceremoniously handed over to Italy’s Carabinieri police force by a delegation of US representatives, including Ambassador Jack Markell, Matthew Bogdanos, head of the antiquities trafficking unit at the New York District Attorney’s Office, and several members from the US Homeland Security investigations department.
In a statement during the event, Markell emphasized the US government's commitment to returning looted cultural artifacts to their rightful owners, underscoring the significance of the handover as a mark of respect for Italy’s rich cultural heritage. “We know that safeguarding this history requires care and vigilance, and this is why we do what we do,” Markell stated.
However, as highlighted by the Guardian, the repatriated collection did not include the famous classical Greek bronze statue, Victorious Youth. This statue has been the subject of a protracted legal battle between Italy and the Getty Museum in California. Despite Italy’s top court ruling in 2018 that the statue must be returned, the Getty Museum has continued to assert its legal claim to the artifact. According to Bogdanos and homeland security officials, the statue remains part of an ongoing investigation.
The collection of returned artifacts boasts an impressive range of historical items, including several Etruscan vases, a life-sized bronze figure, and bronze heads dating from the 9th century BCE to the second century. Additionally, the trove features oil paintings from the 16th and 19th centuries, which were looted from Italian museums, religious institutions, and private residences over time.
Among the most valuable pieces is a 4th-century Naxos silver coin depicting Dionysius, the Greek god of wine. This coin, stolen from an illegal excavation in Sicily around 2013, was trafficked to the United Kingdom and was discovered as part of an investigation into a British coin dealer. The dealer had attempted to sell the coin for $500,000.
Bogdanos highlighted the local nature of looting, explaining how looters often exploit their intimate knowledge of security schedules and the operational timelines of legitimate archaeological excavations. “Looting is local,” Bogdanos explained. “They know when the security guards come on, they know when they come off. They know when the security guards are guarding particular sites and not others. They know when there are scientific, proper, approved archaeological excavations, and then they know when those archaeological excavations close, for example, for the winter or for lack of funding.”
He added, “Our job is to minimize it, increase the risk to those who would engage in this traffic, convict them and where appropriate, sentence them.”
This repatriation marks a crucial step in the ongoing effort to combat the illegal trafficking of cultural heritage and underscores the collaborative efforts between the US and Italy to preserve and protect historical artifacts.
Selena Mattei