The investigation into the composition of private collection of works of art of Agnelli family has reached a turning point. According to what has been ascertained by the investigators, they are 35 paintings by the author that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office is looking for. Part of the list is covered by investigative secrecy, but it is certain that the works include paintings by Monet, Picasso and Giorgio De Chirico. The confidentiality imposed by the magistrates is linked to a crucial step of the investigation: for some paintings, once the place where they are located has been identified, the investigation can be started confiscation procedure.
The works would no longer be in Italy
According to the reconstruction of the investigators as reported by Football and Financethe paintings would no longer be found on Italian territory. After a period of stay in Italy, they would have been transferred abroadwith the most accredited hypothesis indicating the Swiss as a possible destination. The central point of the investigation concerns the absence of communications to the Ministry of Culture, mandatory in the case of transfer of works of particular artistic and patrimonial value.
The regulatory framework on transfers
The owners of works of art, even of very high value, have the right to move them freely. Italian legislation, however, requires the obligation to report the transfer to the competent authorities when it comes to protected assets. Failure to communicate automatically triggers the possibility of confiscation. It is on this aspect that the Prosecutor’s Office focuses its attention, rather than on the legitimacy of the ownership of the works.
Where the investigation originates
At the moment there are no people under investigation, but the crimes of receiving stolen goods and illicit export of works of art are hypothesized. The file arose in the context of the inheritance dispute between which he sees himself Margherita Agnelli to his three children, in relation to the inheritance of Gianni Agnelli, passed away in January 2003.
During the inheritance case, a significant element emerged: all traces of thirteen paintings indicated in the inventory attached to the will were lost. In some cases copies were found instead of the originals. The works involved include, among others, “La scala degli addii” by Giacomo Balla, “Mystery and melancholy of a street” by Giorgio De Chirico and “Glaçons, effet blanc” by Claude Monet.
State protection of works of art
The issue is not just about family litigation. The works have such a value that they fall under the protection of the Italian State. For this reason, the Prosecutor’s Office acquired the documentation relating to the inventory of the Agnellis’ private collection, also making use of the collaboration of other prosecutors’ offices, in particular those of Milan and Turin, where proceedings linked to the missing paintings had been initiated in the past.
A decisive step was represented by the collaboration of Margherita Agnelli. His lawyer gave the investigators certificates, private lists, delivery notes and insurance contracts relating to the paintings. The analysis of this material led to the discovery of 22 works whose possession by the family was not known.
The new paintings emerged from the papers
According to a first reconstructionsome of these works were purchased in the 1980s and 1990s in the United States and subsequently transferred to Italy, where they were exhibited in private family residences. In this case, entry into the country would not have criminal significance, even if the purchase should have been reported. However, the time that has passed makes the matter no longer prosecutable and, according to the investigators, these works are still found in Italy.
The situation is different for some of the works whose traces have now been lost. Documents attached to the will case and transfer documents attest to movements between the family’s Italian residences, after which the paintings appear disappear. The hypothesis is that they were transferred to Switzerland, initially kept in free ports, areas free from customs controls, and subsequently taken to private residences.
