Rome, carabinieri recover head of Marcus Aurelius stolen in 1992 in Zagarolo

The Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale Command, coordinated by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, has found the marble sculptural head ofEmperor Marcus Aurelius worth 300,000 euros that was stolen 27 years ago.

The work in question dates back to the second century A.D. and was located atop the triumphal arch of Palazzo Rospigliosi in Zagarolo near Rome, but in March 1992 it was stolen by unknown persons who used scaffolding installed for restoration work on the facade of the noble palace.

The thieves sold the sculpture to a Roman fence who in turn transported it to France and entrusted it to a trusted person unaware, of the statue’s illicit provenance. The work was later located by investigators in Campione d’Italia, seized and then repatriated.

Once restored, thanks to the skilful work of theCentral Institute for Restoration, under the direction of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the metropolitan area of Rome, the statue will be relocated to its original home, in consultation with the Municipality of Zagarolo and the direction of the Toy Museum, which is located right in the historic Palazzo Rospigliosi.

The palace, formerly owned by the Colonna, Ludovisi and Rospigliosi families, is currently the property of the City of Zagarolo, hosted Caravaggio and the poet Vittorio Alfieri and, in the 1500s, had been embellished with Roman marbles and architectural elements from the Theatre of Marcellus and nearby Gabii.

Source: AdnKronos

Rome, carabinieri recover head of Marcus Aurelius stolen in 1992 in Zagarolo

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