An extraordinary exhibition of more than 100 archaeological treasures, religious objects and paintings spanning two millennia of Italian history is currently on view at the Quirinale Palace. What’s also extraordinary about this exhibition is where the artefacts come from: they were recovered by the Carabinieri’s Cultural Heritage Protection squad from illegal excavations and various thefts during the past year and a half.
"Money makes our heritage come under continuous attack," said General Mariano Mossa, head of the Carabinieri corps at the press conference presenting the exhibition. "The illicit trade in art works is an all-too common crime, fourth down the line after the clandestine dealing in arms, drugs and financial products. Often we find ourselves dealing with international organized crime and money laundering. And now they are using the Internet to sell abroad."
The stolen items include a 6th century B.C. warrior's helmet, red- and black-figured Attic vases, a large gilded cross taken from a church, rare ancient coins, 18th century paintings of Roman ruins, such as an oil on canvas of the Roman Pantheon, and 23 funerary vases, which originally occupied an underground mausoleum near Perugia, and "represent the most extraordinary single Etruscan archaeological find of the past thirty years," according to the exhibit’s curator Louis Godart.
The Carabinieri work involves locating forgeries, patrolling archaeological sites and monitoring websites for suspicious items on sale. Investigators travel worldwide to track items. An essential aspect of the Carabinieri’s job is to maintain and constantly update an online database which at the moment comprises as many as 5.7 million stolen objects and 560,000 images, an enormous cultural heritage subtracted to our "memory," as the name of the exhibition points out, "Memory recovered."
Entry to “La memoria ritrovata. Tesori recuperati dall’Arma dei Carabinieri” is free. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm; Sunday from 8.30 am to 12.00 pm. The exhibition may close in conjunction with institutional events at the Quirinale (the Quirinale is the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic).
