Twenty-three historical and archaeological artefacts that illegally entered U.S. territory have been returned to Italian authorities. The invaluable pieces include a marble sarcophagus from the Roman period depicting sleeping Ariadne, frescoes of the excavations of Pompeii from the first century AD, an Etruscan bronze statuette of Herakles dating to the sixth or fifth century B.C, Greek ceramics dating from the fifth century BC, a Roman bronze depicting Mars from the second century BC, a painting attributed to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo– “The Holy Trinity Appearing to Saint Clement” and Renaissance manuscripts. Twenty-one artefacts were seized in recent months by the offices of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Miami, while the FBI retrieved the Herakles statuette and the Holy Trinity attributed to Tiepolo. The success of the operations was made possible by the increasingly consolidated collaboration between U.S. authorities and the Italian Carabinieri – Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
“These repatriations underscore the strong level of judicial cooperation between the U.S. and Italy, and the great attention that both countries assign to the protection of cultural heritage,” said the Ambassador of Italy to Washington, Claudio Bisogniero. “The Italian Carabinieri boast great professionalism and operational capabilities in recovering works of art which is recognized internationally.”
A “Sending Off Ceremony” took place today with Homeland Security, officials of the Embassy of Italy in Washington, the Consulate General of Italy in New York, and the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Another ceremony was held yesterday with the FBI.
“The cultural and symbolic worth of these Italian treasures far surpasses any monetary value to the Italians,” said Anthony Scandiffio, deputy special agent in charge of HSI New York. “HSI remains a committed partner in the effort to ensure that we investigate individuals involved in the illicit trade and objects like these are returned to their rightful owners.”]
