Brescia Academy professor stranded in Nepal: accused of stealing artifacts

Misadventure in Nepal for a young lecturer at Brescia’sSanta Giulia Academy. According to reports from authorities in the Asian country, Tiziano Ronchi, a 27-year-old professor of decoration at the Brescia-based academy, allegedly attempted to steal a statue from the Taleju temple in Bhaktapur. According to eyewitness reports, Ronchi allegedly tried to remove the metal statue by removing it from the wooden support with a knife. The lecturer was then reportedly apprehended by the Nepalese army military and stopped before he fled; he was later identified and apprehended.

In addition, according to local press reports, Ronchi allegedly entered Bhaktapur without paying the mandatory 10-euro ticket required of foreigners. Entirely different is the defense’s argument: Ronchi allegedly noticed some wooden fragments on the ground and simply placed them back where they originally were. For the defense, therefore, the affair originated from a gigantic misunderstanding.

According to Italian diplomatic sources, reported by Ansa, the detention dates back to last Monday and the Farnesina immediately took action through the honorary consulate in Kathmandu, the Italian embassy in New Delhi (also responsible for Nepal) and the Italian consulate in Calcutta. In particular, Ronchi was visited yesterday by Consul Gianluca Rubagotti at the hospital in Kathmandu, where the young man was taken following his detention for previous health problems (the teacher was found to be in fair condition by the consul, however).

Tiziano Ronchi, born in 1995, holds degrees in Contemporary Visual Arts from the Santa Giulia Academy and in Architectural Design from the Milan Polytechnic. He is also an artist and some of his exhibitions were held between 2021 and 2022 in the Brescia area. Since March2022, he has held the chair in Decoration for the three-year School of Decoration-Art at the Santa Giulia Academy of Fine Arts in Brescia.

Photo: the Taleju temple in Bhaktapur. Photo by Deepayan Sarkar

Brescia Academy professor stranded in Nepal: accused of stealing artifacts

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