Messina, carabinieri find a Flemish school painting stolen 30 years ago

Carabinieri from the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit in Syracuse, with the help of soldiers from the Investigative Unit of the Messina Provincial Command and the Messina Giostra Station, recovered an 18th-century painting that was stolen 30 years ago. The investigation stemmed from checks that the Cultural Heritage Protection Command routinely performs on art goods marketed through e-commerce sites. The attention of the military focused on a sale ad for a Flemish school painting, the marketing of which appeared suspicious.

A comparison of the images posted by the advertiser with those contained in the database of illicitly stolen cultural property, managed by the Tpc Command, established that the work had been stolen in 1988 in Follina, a municipality of about 4,000 inhabitants in the Treviso area, from Castelletto Brandolini, a historic building dating back to the 17th century, where the work was kept.

Prosecutors’ investigations halted in time the sale of the painting, which was in danger of becoming untraceable. The seller, a 43-year-old man from Messina, was charged with receiving stolen property, while investigations have begun to find out how the seller obtained the painting, an oil on canvas depicting a Portrait of a Man.

“The fencing of works of art via the Web,” the Carabinieri explained in a note, “is an increasingly relevant phenomenon due to the exponential growth of telematic commercial transactions and the multiplicity of potential distribution channels (e-commerce platforms, free ad sites, social networks etc.). Through such tools, perpetrators can hide their identity and easily reach a large number of potential buyers, who are often inexperienced and attracted by the possibility of doing business.”

Pictured: the painting recovered by carabinieri.

Messina, carabinieri find a Flemish school painting stolen 30 years ago

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