Friday,
July 28, 2006
The
ANNOTICO Report
I
am extremely pleased that Italian Cultural Ministry attorney Maurizio Fiorilli, the country's lead antiquities prosecutor, has
been persistent, tenacious, and persevering, and Most Of All SO Successful in
pursuing "looted" Italian cultural patrimony.
The
Score:
Somehow,
I believe that this is only the beginning!!!!!
At
first, I was upset, because the "Deals" provided for
Exchanges and Exhibitions, which at first seemed like a "pseudo strings
attached maybe return".
Thinking
further, anyone who has been to Florence, and has been to the
Museums, and they see the rooms "overflowing" with art, and also
having the corridors overflowing with art pieces that any museum in the US
would devote a entire room to, you begin to understand the "abundance of
riches" in Italy, and that it seems advisable that the "loans' to the
US and other countries, leaves in Italy still far more than one could possibly
absorb, so that the "loan" and "properly" exhibiting of Italian
artifacts around the world, will expose more people to the Rich Heritage and
Culture of Italy.
My
personal Experience was that I could only spend four days in Florence before I
went into "overload", and had to take a few days off in Venice,
before I could come back to immerse myself again. The
Uffizi Gallery, the
By Christopher Reynolds and Livia
Borghese
Special to The Times
July 28, 2006
ROME Italian authorities say
Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, one of several major U.S. museums accused of
harboring looted artifacts from Italy, has agreed on the outline of a deal to
return multiple items.
In a joint statement, MFA Director Malcolm Rogers and Italian officials stopped
short of claiming a complete agreement or disclosing details on artifacts,
saying only that in a daylong Tuesday meeting, they "made significant
progress toward a final agreement that establishes a cultural partnership."
But in an interview, Italian Cultural Ministry attorney Maurizio Fiorilli, the country's lead antiquities prosecutor,
indicated that the conversation included discussion of 16 MFA-held objects with
disputed provenance and that the core of the pact would include return of more
than one object.
He also said he expected t! he deal to be finalized by
Sept. 30 and the first object to be back on Italian soil by Oct. 4.
The MFA talks follow a landmark agreement between
The J. Paul Getty Museum, accused of holding 52 objects that
Two weeks ago, Getty officials agreed to return two objects to
Agree to 'work together'
The most important element of the MFA talks, Fiorilli
said, is that the Boston museum has agreed to work with Italy in connection
with further antiquities acquisitions and exhibitions. That goes a step further
than the Met's pact, Fiorilli
said, and could make the MFA a "partner" in the fight against looting
and illegal excavation.
In their joint statement, Italian and MFA leaders said the agreement "will
include the transfer of certain objects of Italian origin in the Museum's
collection to Italy; the loan of significant works from Italy to the MFA's
displays and special exhibitions program; and the establishment of a process by
which the MFA and Italy will work together to ensure the viability of future
acquisitions of Italian antiquities by the Museum."
The Italians and MFA leaders said they also hope for collaboration on
scholarship, conservation, archeolo! gical investigation and exhibition
planning.
The MFA's "art of the ancient world" collection includes about 70,000
pieces from
Oct. 4 is a significant date in the talks, Fiorilli
said, because that's the first hearing date in the legal appeal of antiquities
dealer Giacomo Medici, who was convicted last year of
trafficking in looted art and has had extensive dealings with American museums.
Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds reported
from
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