Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launch a series of raids on the al-Mahmoudiya and Jarmaq areas
Trump reiterates proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop at current front line, negotiate later
Reuters: Trump says no discussion regarding Ukraine ceding Donbas to Russia
US Vice President JD Vance: There is currently no security infrastructure in place to ensure the disarmament of Hamas
Israeli occupation forces said that "ceasefire in Gaza begins to be re-implemented."
Israeli media: 'Israel' to halt entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: One woman was killed and several children were injured as a result of Israeli bombing of displaced Gazans' tents in the Mawasi area of ​​Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Gaza: An Israeli airstrike targeted the eastern areas of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Gaza: An Israeli airstrike targeted Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Al-Qassam Brigades: Communication has been severed with what our remaining fighters (if any are still alive) in Rafah, which is currently under occupation's control.

$10m worth of antiques trafficked in the US return to Italy

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 17 Jun 2022 19:57
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Italy has opened a new museum in Rome dedicated to displaying more than 200 objects thought to have been stolen from cultural sites around the nation and trafficked in the United States.

  • x
  • $10m worth of trafficked antiques fill new museum in Italy
    $10m worth of antiques trafficked in the US return to Italy

Italy has opened a new museum in Rome dedicated to displaying more than 200 objects thought to have been stolen from cultural sites around the nation and trafficked in the US.

211 of the 260 pieces in the new museum's rotating collection were found during seizures led by the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit, which estimates the value of the recovered artifacts to be about $10 million.

  • Eight of the artefacts retrieved (NYT)
    Eight of the artefacts retrieved (NYT)

The Museum of Rescued Art also houses the ancient city's 306 C.E. Baths of Diocletian. The 260 items from Etruria, Greece, and Rome, which are currently being returned to the Italian government in batches, have gone on display as part of the new enterprise's debut show. Some of the items came from private collections, museums, and auction houses.

Read more: 10 little-known facts about famous works of art

Related News

US knew fatal Rafah blast cause was not Hamas op., says journalist

US puts informants at risk in deal with El Salvador’s Bukele: WashPo

Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, Carabinieri commander Teo Luzi, and Massimo Osanna, director of Italy's state museums, officially opened the museum's Octagonal Hall display space on Wednesday. Franceschini described the artifacts populating the new area as having "intangible value" tied to Italy's "historical memory" during a news conference. He said that several of them had never been seen in public before.

Votive terracotta heads from the 3rd and 4th centuries B.C.E. and a red-figure Apulian vase representing Eros from the mid-4th century B.C.E. are among the more costly pieces on show. Other items on display include sculptures, urns, plates, and coins ranging from the eighth to fourth century B.C. Many of them come from places in Western-Central Italy that have Etruscan historical sites. Experts are still unsure of the dates when they were initially plundered.

  • Manhattan District Attorney
    Manhattan District Attorney

The Carbineri has been involved in efforts to repatriate art. Since its inception in 1969, the team in charge of dealing with antiquities looting claims to have recovered an estimated 3 million cultural objects.

However, in several high-profile incidents, the Italian police force has been challenged by US organizations. In 2018, an Italian court ordered the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles to return the bronze statue of a naked male known as "Victorious Youth". The museum disputed the judicial verdict on the grounds that the relic was first discovered on foreign seas.

  • $10m worth of antiques trafficked in the US return to Italy
    $10m worth of antiques trafficked in the US return to Italy

Michael McCullough, a New York-based lawyer who focuses on art restitution cases, told ARTnews that “It doesn’t always make sense to exhibit objects in a manner that highlights their removal from and return to the country,” adding that doing so may fail to attract long-term audiences. 

He claimed that "not all antiquities removed from Italy were high-quality objects worth looking at.”

Other governments have undertaken similar programs centered on returned antiquities, campaigning for the repatriation of other items from museums overseas in the process. Greece established an Athens museum dedicated to displaying its Parthenon marbles in 2009, emphasizing the absence of others taken in the nineteenth century. This year, Nigeria announced intentions to create an institution in Benin City to house Benin bronzes seized during a military raid in 1897 and currently stored in European and American museums.

Read more: 17 Mexican archaeological artifacts back home after 30 years

  • United States
  • Italy

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
2K Palestinian detainees freed, defy occupation with mass welcome

2K Palestinian detainees freed, defy occupation with mass welcome

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Yemeni Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari , during a ceremony in an undisclosed locations in Yemen, undate (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces mourn martyred Chief of Staff al-Ghamari

  • Politics
  • 16 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Russian banks begin accepting Iranian LCs to boost bilateral trade
Economy

Russian banks begin accepting Iranian LCs to boost bilateral trade

IOF admit to the killing of two soldiers in Gaza
Politics

Israeli occupation forces says two soldiers killed in southern Gaza

President Donald Trump attends a lunch with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Politics

Trump: No Gaza troops, no more arms to Ukraine, tariffs on China

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks in a meeting with ambassadors and representatives of foreign countries in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Politics

Iran-China-Russia alliance to counter EU snapback move: Tehran

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS