On December 15, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Manhattan announced the return of 200 stolen artifacts to Italy, estimated at an estimated value of about 10 million euros. On December 30, the Italian side showed some of the artifacts to the media in Rome.
The history of this group of artifacts dates from the 8th century BC to the 1st century AD, and after being illegally stolen and traded, some of them went into the hands of auction houses, galleries and private collectors, and a large part was collected by institutions such as the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the "Fordeme Museum of Greek, Etrascan and Roman Art" in New York.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said at the press conference that these cultural relics should not be displayed in a museum, but should be sent to museums in the areas related to cultural relics for scattered display, so that more people can appreciate cultural masterpieces that travel through time and space.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which returned Italian artifacts, said 150 of the artifacts were recovered through an investigation into antique dealer Eduardo Almaja. Born in Italy, Almaggia moved to New York in the 1980s and left the United States in 2003. It is reported that Almagya was investigated in Italy on suspicion of illegally buying and selling stolen cultural relics and is still at large.
(Editor: Liu Qingyang)