Italian police recover long-lost Roman marble head nearly 50 years after it was stolen

After nearly half a century, authorities have returned a Roman marble head stolen from Villa Albani Torlonia in Rome, Italy.

Thieves tore off the head of the Hydrophora, which is part of a larger statue, in 1978, along with four other priceless items. The Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Italy recovered the piece and brought it back to its former home, under the direction of Brigadier General Vincenzo Molinese.

The rescue mission began in February 2015, when the team received a tip from a German scholar who believed he had seen the valuable object in an art publication, listed as part of a private collection in Zurich, in Swiss.

Rome’s Special Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape, a peripheral office of the Ministry of Culture, worked with the carabinieri, Rome’s public prosecutor’s office and Swiss authorities to verify and locate the antiquity. The deceased collector’s wife had inherited the coin in good faith, authorities said.

Its successful repatriation last year was only recently announced after a painstaking restoration process. In a special ceremony to celebrate the Chief’s return, he was reattached to his long-lost torso in the presence of the Carabinieri who had helped ensure his safe return.

“Heritage conservation is the foundation that guides all our activities. The return of the head of Hydrophora therefore acquires a symbolic value in relation to this commitment, which is also reflected in the restorations that we present today,” said the president of the foundation, Alessandro Poma Murialdo.

Albani Torlonia is a large neoclassical villa built in the 18th century to house the collection of antiquities amassed by Cardinal Alessandro Albani. Over the years, the Torlonia family, who bought the house and land in 1866, expanded and maintained it. It remains in the custody of the Torlonia Foundation to this day.

The foundation’s private collection consists of 620 museum-quality Greek and Roman sculptures which was presented to the public for the first time in several decades in early 2020. It also has a special Torlonia laboratory for the restoration of ancient marbles, which hosts collaborations, research and educational initiatives with universities and partner institutions..

The Italian Carabinieri Artistic Squad was founded in 1969, becoming the first specialized police force of its kind in the world. It has four departments dedicated to archaeology, antique trade, fakes and contemporary art.