Germany returns a stolen Roman head to Italy; it is a marble work from the 2nd century AD.

Germany has returned toItaly a Roman head, in marble, dating back to the second century AD: the return took place as part of a ceremony held at the residence of the German ambassador to Rome, Viktor Elbling. It is a work that, according to the experts’ reconstruction, was found during an excavation in Fondi (Latina): it has been known since 1937 and was stolen from Italy probably between 1944 and the early 1960s. In 1964 the head is attested at the Archaeological Museum of the University of Münster: the then director had purchased the find from a private citizen of Hamburg, but there was no evidence of its illicit provenance. And it was the University of Münster that, upon realizing that it was a dubiously arrived artifact, proposed that it be returned to Italy.

“This is an act of highly symbolic value in that it testifies to the full adherence of Italy and Germany to principles and values of a universal nature and our shared approach to the concept of the protection of cultural heritage,” said Cultural Heritage Minister Alberto Bonisoli. “Italy’s attitude is not only that of a country claiming the return of stolen works of art, but we are in the forefront, when the circumstances arise, in returning works of art belonging to the cultural heritage of other countries. This is how we intend to combat the phenomenon of the illegal market in cultural heritage.”

The museum to which the Roman head will be destined has not yet been announced.

Germany returns a stolen Roman head to Italy; it is a marble work from the 2nd century AD.

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