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The latest presentation of looted goods in Rome is the fruits of Italy’s decades-old effort to recover antiquities stolen from its territory by tomb raiders. Italy has celebrated the return of around 600 antiquities from the US, including ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and manuscripts valued at €60 million. These valuable objects were looted years ago, sold to US museums, galleries and collectors and recovered as a result of criminal investigations.

US Ambassador Jack Markell, the head of the antiquities trafficking unit of the New York district attorney's office Matthew Bogdanos, and members of the US Homeland Security Investigations department were on hand for the presentation alongside the leadership of Italy’s Culture Ministry and Carabinieri art squad. It was the latest presentation of the fruits of Italy’s decades-old effort to recover antiquities that were looted or stolen from its territory by “tombaroli” tomb raiders, sold to antiquities dealers who often forged provenance records in order to resell the loot to high-end buyers, auction houses and museums. Last year, Italy also celebrated the from the US, a collection encompassing Etruscan vases and ancient Roman coins and mosaics with an estimated value in the tens of millions of euros.



These artefacts had also been illicitly looted. Markell said that Washington was committed to returning the stolen loot “to where it belongs” as a sign of respect for Italy and its cultural and artistic he.

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