Italian police seize
stolen artifacts, private museum
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[February 05, 2015] ROME
(Reuters) - Italian police have seized more than 2,000
ancient artifacts in a nationwide sweep aimed at
dismantling a criminal gang that was operating
throughout southern Italy and dealing in stolen
archaeological treasures.
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During their operation, police discovered a house that had
been turned into a private museum packed with some 550 ancient
finds, a police statement said. Three people were arrested.
The investigation was launched after part of a fresco was stolen
from the House of Neptune in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii,
near Naples, police said.
Italian media reported the loss of part of a fresco of Apollo
and Artemis in Pompeii last March. The police, who dubbed their
investigation "Artemis", did not say if they had recovered the
art work, which was hacked out of a wall.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini hailed Wednesday's
operation, which was coordinated by anti-mafia officials in
Naples and involved some 142 police searches in more than 20
Italian cities and towns.
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"(This) has led to the recovery of thousands of archaeological
items and defeated a criminal organization dedicated to
plundering southern Italy's cultural heritage," Franceschini
said in a statement.
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Amongst the items recovered were decorated vases, coins and
fragments of ancient buildings. Police also seized metal detectors
and items they said had been used for illegal digs.
Underlining the challenge faced by Italy in protecting its vast
cultural wealth, authorities said on Wednesday that heavy rain had
washed away part of a garden in Pompeii, which was buried under
volcanic ash nearly 2,000 years ago.
The damage occurred in an area that was due to be restored under the
Great Pompeii Project -- a 105 million euro ($119.9 million) plan
partly funded by the European Union.
The project has been delayed due to legal squabbles over who should
carry out the work.
($1 = 0.8757 euros)
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
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