“Today we celebrate the sustained excellent results of an agreement signed 15 years ago which marked the start of an intense collaboration between Italy and the US in tracking down hundreds of illicitly exported artworks,” said Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities Alberto Bonisoli in his remarks during a ceremony at the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC for the presentation of the catalog Saving Art Preserving Heritage.

“What we are seeing here is a small part of the results of that cooperation, but no less significant in that they exemplify the shared culture that unites Italy and the US,” he added. Remarks were followed by the Repatriation Ceremony of three artifacts and by an exhibition of 20 works of art recovered in the last two years by the Carabinieri Heritage Protection Unit in collaboration with the FBI and ICE.