Van Huysum's Vase of Flowers returned after 75 years to the Pitti Palace. Bonisoli: A historic day

A ceremony was held this morning at the Pitti Palace in Florence to return the Vase of Flowers by Flemish painter Jan van Huysum, stolen by German troops in 1944.

It was handed over to Italy by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in the presence of Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities Alberto Bonisoli, Carabinieri Commander General Giovanni Nistri and Uffizi Galleries Director Eike Schmidt.

“Today’s is a historic day, cultural diplomacy wins, which in recent times with acceleration has managed to achieve a great goal. We have achieved an important result, of which I am particularly proud, which demonstrates the goodness of the work begun in recent months, while the work carried out by the Carabinieri of the Nucleo Tutela del Patrimonio culturale is once again confirmed as valuable,” Bonisoli said during the ceremony. "At the beginning of my term, more than a year ago, I decided to reconvene the Institutional Committee for the Recovery and Return of Stolen Works of Art, and at the same time to expand the composition of this body to include permanent representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice for greater representativeness and effectiveness. On the one hand, I am convinced that protecting our cultural heritage means, also, conducting an unrelenting fight against the illegal artwork market, and on the other hand, that to achieve this requires teamwork. And the return of The Vase of Flowers to Italy and the city of Florence proves this, and not only because of the underlying symbolic value," he added.
“Today we write a new and important page of cultural relations between two founding countries of the European Union,” the minister concluded.

Van Huysum's Vase of Flowers returned after 75 years to the Pitti Palace. Bonisoli: A historic day

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