Of
Giulio De Santis
There are thirty-five paintings of inestimable value of which traces have been lost. De Chirico, Balla in the list of works that may have been transferred to Switzerland
The investigation by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office into the disappearance of 35 works of art that make up the Agnelli family collection revolves around the mystery of the disappearance of the painting “the mystery and melancholy of a street”, author Giorgio De Chirico, valued at seven and a half million euros. There is a copy of this painting, found at the Lingotto. Traces of the original have been lost.
The disappearance of a masterpiece of inestimable value from the Italian artistic heritage calls into question, according to the investigators, the Ministry of Culture. A direct responsibility, because among the tasks of the dicastery is to control, track and know every movement of works of significant artistic interest. «The mystery and melancholy of a street» falls into this protected category of works that the ministry has the obligation to protect.
There are another thirty-four paintings by the Agnelli family that are no longer known about. The heart of the investigation by the deputy prosecutor Giovanni Conzo and the prosecutor Stefano Opilio, for now without suspects, is, in fact, the failure by the Ministry of Culture to protect these works which form part of the Italian artistic heritage, even if owned by a private individual as in the case of the Agnelli family. The alleged crimes are receiving stolen goods and illicit export of works of art. The judicial dispute over the inheritance of the lawyer Gianni Agnelli, of which the collection is a prized piece, between his daughter Margherita (69 years old) and his grandchildren John (49), Lapo (47) and Virginia (46), is one of the streams of the Roman investigation.
Returning to De Chirico’s painting, the Agnellis, as owners, have always had the right to transfer it abroad. On one condition: communicate it to the Ministry. Failure to report, if the original reappears one day, will require the State to initiate the procedure to confiscate the work. Once the duties of the Agnelli have been clarified, it is necessary to underline the tasks of the ministerial officials. Which would have been to periodically inquire about the state of the painting. Not just by asking in which of the residences De Chirico was exhibited. But also by inspecting the painting personally to ascertain, for example, the good condition of the canvas. Mandatory obligations, of which for now there is no paper confirmation. The consequence of the lack of checks, according to investigators, was the disappearance of the original and its replacement through the creation of a copy.
De Chirico’s painting is the main one of the works targeted by investigators. But it is not the only copy discovered at the Lingotto. The other two paintings are «The Staircase of Farewells» by Giacomo Balla and «Glacons, effet blanc» by Monet. During the investigation, the suspicion emerged that in 2008 Balla’s painting in the Roman residence was suddenly replaced with a copy, taking advantage of the illness of Marella Caracciolo, wife of Gianni Agnelli.
Where would the originals go? They may have been transferred to Switzerland, to one of the Agnelli residences. However, there is also the possibility that they are in Morocco. Final destination also for other paintings who disappeared from the ministry’s radar. The investigations into the gaps in ministerial controls, delegated by the prosecutor’s office to the artistic heritage carabinieri, have been carried out since the 1950s. In fact, it is from this period that there is no further news of any works and from here we start again to trace them.
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December 31, 2025
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