Italy welcomes home trafficked antiquities from US museums

Published December 30, 2021 10:48 AM

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s culture minister has welcomed the return of 201 prized antiquities valued at over 10 million euros ($11 million). The objects welcomed back on Thursday had been located in prestigious U.S. museums and galleries after being illegally trafficked in recent decades. They were among thousands of antiquities seized from traffickers or returned to Italy this year in major operations that also targeted trafficking rings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Of the 201 works returned by U.S. officials earlier this month, 161 have been repatriated to Italy while 40 are on exhibit at the Italian Consulate General in New York through March 2022.

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