Italians recover looted ancient artifacts
European trafficking ring busted, say Italian police
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 | 3:59 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
Police in Italy announced Tuesday the recovery of dozens of looted artifacts, including a first century fresco and ancient Greek pottery.
Officers broke up a theft ring that operated out of Italy and France, with 31 people under investigation, police said.
Italian police worked with local officials in Switzerland, France and Spain to retrieve the looted artifacts, many of which were illegally removed decades ago.
"These are all objects that had been excavated illegally from underground tombs and taken out of the country," Vito Augelli of the Italian police force that co-ordinated the operation, told reporters.
Among the recovered archeological treasures are vases from the Apulia region dating from fourth century B.C., goblets and other pottery imported from ancient Greece by the Etruscans in central Italy, and a fragment of a fresco believed to date to the first century A.D. and reportedly removed from a villa near Pompeii that served as a home to Emperor Nero's second wife, Poppaea Sabina.
During Italy's three-year hunt for those behind the antiquities-trafficking ring, a raid on a house in Milan also uncovered 22 paintings forged to look like the works of Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani, Monet and Degas, police said in a statement.
Italy has been aggressively pursuing antiquities illegally excavated from its territories, including high-profile campaigns seeking the return of artifacts that landed in prestigious collections of U.S. museums and galleries.
In mid-December, officials opened the exhibit Nostoi: Recovered Masterpieces to showcase the fruits of the past few years, with many of the featured antiquities items returned by California's J. Paul Getty Museum.
Last weekend, Rome's Quirinal presidential gallery, which is hosting the exhibit, announced it would extend the show for an additional month because of popular demand. More than 70,000 people have already seen the exhibit, now set to close on March 30.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
Whitney Houston's final song Celebrate debuts by Jessica Wong May. 23, 2012 2:46 PM It seems fitting that Whitney Houston's final release is an upbeat and uplifting duet in which she passes the torch to a younger singer with vocal powerhouse potential. In the high energy song Celebrate, from the upcoming film Sparkle, Houston duets with singer and former American Idol Jordin Sparks.
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific Railway strike leads to 2,000 layoffs
- The Canadian Pacific Railway strike means more than 2,000 non-striking unionized CP employees will be laid off, a spokesman for the company said Wednesday, as the federal labour minister said she may force an end to the work stoppage. more »
- Canadian Everest victim warned by guide to turn back
- A Toronto woman who died on Mount Everest did not heed warnings for her to turn back, according to the Nepalese tour company who organized her expedition. more »
- John Baird to champion religious freedom in U.S. speech
- Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will be the main speaker at a Washington, D.C., event celebrating religious freedom, but the event sponsor's hardline stance on same-sex marriage and homosexuality is at odds with Baird's support for gay rights around the world. more »
- How a CP strike affects Canada's supply chain
- When engineers and other workers at Canadian Pacific Railway walked off the job early Wednesday, they set off a strike that could affect coal mines, farms, auto manufacturing plants and maybe even the local Canadian Tire. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Security breach alleged in making of bin Laden raid film
- A House committee chairman charged Wednesday in Washington that the CIA and Defence Department jeopardized national security by co-operating too closely with filmmakers producing a movie on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. more »
- Tom Wesselmann celebrated in new Montreal exhibit
- With Beyond Pop Art: Tom Wesselmann, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is trying to give the reserved, modest American art icon the attention he deserves. more »
- Mario Bros. creator gets Spain's Asturias Award
- Japan's Shigeru Miyamoto, considered the father of the modern video game, has been awarded Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. more »
- David Cronenberg exhibit planned at TIFF
- With Canadian director David Cronenberg drawing attention at Cannes with the upcoming release of Cosmopolis, the TIFF Group is getting ready to celebrate his film career with a new exhibition. more »
Q Blog
Stephen Merchant stands up for himself May. 23, 2012 4:44 PM The comic best known for collaborating with Ricky Gervais on hit TV shows "The Office" and "Extras," talks to Jian about recently returning to his stand-up comedy roots, whether there are taboos in comedy, and more.
CBC Books
The problem with modern motherhood May. 23, 2012 5:26 PM French writer Elisabeth Badinter has written a controversial new book about modern motherhood. It in she argues that parenting methods like attachment parenting undermine women. She explains why to Day 6.
- Canadian Everest victim warned by guide to turn back
- Prince Charles and Camilla jet home after 4-day visit
- Canadian Pacific Railway strike leads to 2,000 layoffs
- Outhouse bear attack survivor was grabbed from 'throne'
- Disgraced RCMP officer transferred to B.C.
- Canadian climber describes Everest as 'a morgue'
- Tsunami debris could bring shoes with human remains
- Mom can't leave Canada with children, or stay either
- Calcium supplement use may raise heart attack risk


