A work of art stolen more than fifty years ago It continues to discuss between Italy and the United Kingdom. It is the “Madonna and Child” by Antonio Solario16th century painter belonging to the Venetian school, stolen from the Civic Museum of Belluno in 1973 and recently rediscovered in England.
Can you finally return to Italy? Well not because his current owner, Barbara De Dozsa, a man’s widow who bought it in good faith in the same year as the theft, opposes the return of the painting. The picture was purchased by the Belluno Civic Museum in 1872 and remained there until the theft took place in the middle of a wave of raids of art.
Some works stolen on that occasion were recovered shortly after in Austriabut the “Madonna with the Child” seemed disappeared into thin air. Only in 2017 the work re -emerged, when De Dozsa tried to sell it through a regional auction house. An Italian art expert recognized the painting and has reported his presence in the stolen works databasemanaged by Interpol and the carabinieri.
The woman appeals to the 1980 “Limition Act”
At that point the Italian Ministry of Culture started an investigation, but recovery proved to be more complicated than expected. Due to the pandemic and the consequent bureaucratic delays, the Italian authorities from the British police who in 2020 returned the picture to Mrs. De Dozsa.
The latter, appealing to “Limition Act” of 1980claims to have full right to the ownership of the work, since the purchase of her husband and more than six years have passed since the time of purchase.
The case raised a heated debate between experts in international law and cultural institutions. Christopher Marinello, a lawyer specialized in the recovery of stolen works of art, has repeatedly tried to convince the widow De Dozsa to return the painting, also with the promise of a reimbursement for the legal fees incurred. However, the woman has always refused every solution that involved the sale of the work.
According to the Norfolk police, the case falls within the civil sphere And not criminal, which is why the British authorities. In the meantime, Solario’s painting remains in the United Kingdom, far from Belluno and his community, who still hopes to be able to get a piece of his cultural heritage.
