U.S. Repatriates Artifacts to Italy

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—According to a statement released by the office of the Manhattan District Attorney, 42 artifacts recovered during ongoing criminal investigations conducted by the District Attorney’s office with Homeland Security Investigations and Italy’s Carabinieri. The items were repatriated to Italy during a ceremony last week. “We continue to undo the damage wrought by decades of well-organized antiquities smuggling networks throughout Italy,” said District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. One of the objects is a two-foot-tall calyx krater painted with mythical scenes that has been dated to about 335 B.C. It had been looted from a tomb in southern Italy and was recovered from a private collection. Five gold coins and a gold fibula, buried together in the late third or early fourth century A.D., were also retrieved from a private collection. Two Etruscan tile paintings dated to about 440 B.C. were also returned. They had been taken from a tomb in central Italy’s Cerveteri necropolis and were found in an antiquities dealer’s storage unit. To read more about Etruscan antiquities, go to "Etruscan Code Uncracked."