Overview

• The two-square-foot panel dates from the late 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. and portrays a half-naked couple in an intimate domestic scene that marks a shift toward everyday love in Roman art.
• Seized during World War II by a Wehrmacht captain managing military logistics, the travertine slab remained in private hands in Germany until the heirs of the last owner reached out to Italian authorities.
• Italy’s Carabinieri Art Squad completed authentication and provenance checks in September 2023, and the Italian Consulate in Stuttgart arranged its diplomatic repatriation.
• The Archaeological Park of Pompeii has catalogued the mosaic and placed it on temporary display under Carabinieri Art Squad protection to support both scholarly study and public education.
• Officials say the return not only restores a stolen cultural treasure but also reflects evolving ethics about the burden of owning illicit antiquities and reinforces Italy’s commitment to healing wartime looting wounds.