6 days ago
A Pompeii Mosaic, Taken by a Nazi Captain, Is Returned
For decades, the mosaic remained hidden in Germany, until investigators searching for looted art identified it as a work taken from the ruins of Pompeii.
This week, the vivid piece, depicting an intimate bedroom scene, went on display in Italy near the site of the ancient Roman city, the Pompeii Archaeological Park said in a statement. The artifact is among thousands of objects, looted from Pompeii over the centuries, that in recent decades have been returned to the site.
A Nazi Wehrmacht captain serving in Italy and in charge of supply chains somehow acquired the mosaic during World War II, perhaps through looting or theft, and transported it to Germany in 1944, where he presented it as an extravagant gift to an unnamed civilian, according to the Italian police. It remains unclear who had the mosaic before the captain took possession of it or where it was.
Decades later, a relative of the last German owner, who had inherited the mosaic, contacted the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Italy, a police squad that has traced and returned thousands of pieces of art and looted artifacts, and asked how to return it. The police have not identified the heir.
Checking against a database of more than a million artifacts, many of them stolen, the unit's investigators confirmed that the panel had originated from Pompeii's ruins and then reached out to the Pompeii Archaeological Park, which manages the site and its antiquities, according to Gen. Francesco Gargaro, who leads the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.
The mosaic was officially returned to Italy through diplomatic channels on Sept. 16, 2023, and is now being exhibited at the park.
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