“The fresco depicting 'Hercules as a boy strangling the serpent' should return to Ercolano to be admired by all, perhaps in an exhibition organised specifically for this purpose, is the appeal I am making to the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano”: this is what Ciro Buonajuto, mayor of Herculaneum and national vice president of Anci.
The Herculaneum fresco is one of 60 archaeological finds – estimated to be worth more than $20 million – that were repatriated from the United States, where they had been traded by international traffickers, by the Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale together with the New York County District Attorney's Office.
The work stolen from the city of Scavi had ended up in the collection of the American billionaire Michael Steinhardt, the fresco dates back to 50 AD and was looted from a Roman villa and today is worth 1 million dollars. Already in December 2021 when the collector's desire to return the stolen works became clear, the mayor of Ercolano had asked for the fresco to be returned.
"That work belongs to our community, it was stolen from Ercolano in 1995 and today it is right that it returns to the shadow of Vesuvius to be admired by all. I am convinced that the sensitivity shown by Minister Sangiuliano can represent a good viaticum to bring the fresco back to our city" concludes Buonajuto.
Article published on 24 January 2023 - 15:55
