The Oracle of Delphi Returns to Naples: The Stolen Painting Had Ended Up in Los Angeles

Naples – Two important paintings illegally stolen from the Metropolitan City of Naples were returned to their original location today thanks to the work of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC).

This is The Oracle of Delphi (1880) by Camillo Miola, finished at Getty Museum of Los Angeles, and the Portrait of Vittorio Emanuele III (1902) by Achille Talarico, recovered in Italy. The works were presented to the press in the Cirillo room of Palazzo Matteotti by the metropolitan mayor Gaetano Manfredi and by the Division General Francesco Gargaro, Commander of the TPC.

History and recovery of the works

The Oracle of Delphi, an oil on canvas purchased in 1881 by the Province of Naples for 3.500 lire, was illegally exported after the Second World War. Appearing on the US antiques market in 1972, it entered the collections of the Getty Museum, which indicated its provenance from the “Pinacoteca provinciale di Napoli” without acknowledging its illicit origin. The recovery, coordinated by the Rome Prosecutor's Office and the TPC, required years of investigation and international collaboration.

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The Portrait of Vittorio Emanuele III, commissioned by the then Province of Naples, was instead seized by the TPC Nucleus of Naples, led by Major Massimo Esposito, on Italian territory.

The ceremony and institutional interventions

The press conference was attended by the Deputy Prosecutor of Rome Giovanni Conzo, Luigi La Rocca of the Ministry of Culture, and other authorities. A string quartet from the “Margherita di Savoia” high school accompanied the unveiling of the works with pieces by Rameau and Charpentier.

Gaetano Manfredi, metropolitan mayor, underlined: “This recovery enhances a heritage of over 500 works. We are working to permanently exhibit them in Santa Maria la Nova”.

Giovanni Conzo recalled the commitment of the Rome Prosecutor's Office, while General Gargaro highlighted the use of advanced technologies and databases with 1,3 million files to track the works.

Cultural meaning

The two canvases represent a crucial piece of the Neapolitan artistic school between the 19th and 20th centuries. Their return, in addition to filling a historical loss, reaffirms the effectiveness of cooperation between institutions in the protection of heritage.