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6mo ago

U.S. Returns 337 Looted Antiquities to Italy

The handover caps stepped-up U.S.–Italy enforcement under a renewed cultural-property pact.

A marble bust of Alexander the Great depicted as the sun god Helios
A Carabiniere stands behind an Egyptian bust recovered from the United States following a repatriation operation, at the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, in Rome, Italy, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT
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Overview

  • The repatriation ceremony in Rome, held Wednesday, returned 337 artifacts to Italy’s Carabinieri cultural protection unit.
  • The Manhattan district attorney’s office traced 221 objects, with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and Christie’s helping recover the remaining 116.
  • Highlights include a first-century marble head of Alexander the Great seized in New York, a bronze taken from Herculaneum, two Egyptian basalt statues, coins, a ship’s rudder, and ceramics.
  • Italian officials say many pieces came from illegal digs or thefts from museums before entering the art market, and more than 20 items had been in the Met’s collection.
  • Authorities plan to study and conserve the objects for return to their home regions, a process strengthened by a 25-year U.S.–Italy agreement renewed in December and recent large U.S. returns in 2024.