2023-11-15 13:26:16
Dispersion, recoveries and protection. They are the adventurous stories of Etruscan finds brought to life and exhibited, for the first time, to the public in the exhibition “Caere. Stories of dispersion and recovery” opened – on the occasion of the International Day against Illicit Trafficking of UNESCO cultural heritage, archaeologists at the Sapienza University of Rome, in the presence of representatives of law enforcement and institutions who retraced the events of the recovery of masterpieces. “The recovery of the lost archaeological heritage is the result of patient team work, made up of research and intuitions, reconstructions and comparisons, which is enriched by the experience and contribution of many professionals and when the pieces of the mosaic finally fall into place, we are proud to return finds of absolute historical value to public use” said the director of the Museum of Etruscan and Italic Antiquities of Sapienza, Laura Michetti.
Michetti noted that “the objects ‘torn’ from the ground, and migrated abroad without any data on their origin, can in some cases be traced back to their original context, recovering their role as pieces of our history and our memory. The added value of the collaboration between the different institutions lies in the fact that the recovery of the assets is accompanied by the possibility of contextualising and above all of arriving at new knowledge: in this study and research activity, in which the students are fully involved, the role of the ‘university can certainly be important.”
This year Sapienza has chosen to celebrate the International Day against Illicit Trafficking of UNESCO cultural heritage with a meeting in which, in the presence of the rector Antonella Polimeni, archaeologists and representatives of the police forces and institutions took turns, united from the commitment to the protection and recovery of lost archaeological heritage. The meeting was preceded by the presentation of Etruscan finds, some exhibited for the first time in the exhibition “Caere. History of dispersions and recoveries” set up at the Museum and curated by Laura Michetti herself, together with Claudia Carlucci of the Polo Museale Sapienza, Alessandro Conti of the Department of Ancient Sciences and Rossella Zaccagnini of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Province of Viterbo and southern Etruria.
The theme of the current exhibition is in fact precisely that of the dispersion of the archaeological heritage, caused by the clandestine excavations that afflict the entire national territory and especially the area of Etruscan Lazio, and its recovery made possible thanks to the collaboration between the institutions and the police forces who were the protagonists of these recoveries, the Ministry of Culture, the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Command, the Guardia di Finanza, supported by the Port Authority – Coast Guard for the protection of the archaeological heritage submerged and coastal of Southern Etruria.
“Sapienza enhances and puts at the service of the country the tradition of excellence of its School of Archaeology, confirmed several times by international rankings, not only through the countless excavation and research activities conducted by the Department of Ancient Sciences in Italy and abroad, but also with the responsibility of safeguarding and enhancing the exceptional finds that are exhibited in our Museum” said the Rector Antonella Polimeni. “The theme of the exhibition – continued the Rector – is that of the dispersion of the archaeological heritage, caused by the clandestine excavations that afflict the entire national territory and, above all, the area of Etruscan Lazio, and its recovery made possible thanks to collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the police forces, who were the protagonists of these recoveries and who we wanted to involve today on the occasion of the international day against illicit trafficking of cultural goods”.
Among the finds presented, a large chalice krater with red figures stands out, twin of the “Sarpedon Crater” literally ‘signed’ by Euphronios, one of the greatest Greek artists of the end of the 6th century BC; the work portrays a fight scene between Heracles and Kynos, embellished by the presence of the names of both the ceramist and the protagonists represented. The crater was returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and has now been entrusted to Sapienza by the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the province of Viterbo and southern Etruria. The recovery of the object was possible thanks to investigations by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office and the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command which ascertained its provenance from clandestine excavations that took place in Cerveteri in the 1970s. The crater was most likely stolen from the necropolis of Greppe S., from which the other famous specimen with the death of Sarpedon also came, and after several changes of ownership it was loaned to the New York museum in 1999. Only thanks to a complex and accurate reconstruction, the work was able to return to Italy in 2010, on the basis of a restitution agreement signed between the Italian and American authorities.
The head of the TPC Command Office, Lt. Col. Massimiliano Quagliarella, underlining the importance of making known the history of important recoveries of objects and works of art”. “Among the primary objectives of the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command – has said Quagliarella – there is the awareness of public opinion, and in particular of the younger generations, on the importance of the recovery and valorisation of stolen works of art which contribute to the collective memory and identity on which our civilizations are based. The fight against every form of illegality in this sector therefore takes on a meaning and a value that goes far beyond the patrimonial value of the saved objects”. Among the other masterpieces presented to the public for the first time, there are 4 painted terracotta slabs of Etruscan production, an exceptional testimony of ancient painting, seized just before their entry into the clandestine market thanks to the intervention of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Rome in August 2019.
“We knew that a negotiation was underway to transfer archaeological finds to Central America – Gulf of Mexico by sea, via a large pleasure boat. They had no idea what finds were involved, but we intervened in good time to prevent them from being taken to ‘abroad and at that moment we found ourselves in front of the painted panels in a fragmentary state, perhaps reduced in this way to facilitate their movement” explained Capt. Manuel Carbonara. “A series of diagnostic analyzes were necessary to ascertain their originality and dating and a subsequent careful restoration at the end of which it was possible to place them in a precise historical context, thanks to the contribution of the archaeologists’ skills” Carbonara also underlined. Furthermore, with regards to the protection of the submerged and coastal archaeological heritage of Southern Etruria, in contexts of particular archaeological interest such as in the waters near the Etruscan site of Pyrgi (Santa Marinella – Rome), the Lazio Maritime Directorate is engaged in constant protection activities in collaboration with the Superintendency, essential to prevent illegal excavations even in submerged contexts.
These activities materialize – as explained by the Maritime Director of Lazio CV (CP) Michele Castaldo – thanks to the issuing of interdiction orders to protect the submerged archaeological deposits which are enforced by the territorial commands and through a series of specific controls conducted on naval units and in ports to prevent the illegal transport of cultural goods also abroad. “The underlying theme of the exhibition is the crucial theme of the fight against clandestine excavations and the protection of the territory, in which the Superintendence has always been at the forefront – observed the Superintendent Margherita Eichberg – especially in an area, such as that of Etruria, among the most affected by the plague of looting of archaeological finds. Together with the police forces, and in collaboration with universities and research bodies, we are committed to combating the illicit trafficking of archaeological goods and raise awareness among local communities of the importance of safeguarding and protecting their cultural heritage and, therefore, their memory”.
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