L’AQUILA – The Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of L’Aquila, three years after its establishment, has carried out an intense activity of prevention, contrast and repression of criminal phenomena linked to the activities of clandestine excavations, theft of cultural goods, counterfeiting of artwork.
There has been no shortage of delicate and complex investigations aimed at recovering cultural assets illicitly stolen or in any case illicitly removed from the two regions under jurisdiction, Abruzzo and Molise. During 2023, a decrease in thefts was recorded, mostly perpetrated against places of worship, more precisely 6 reports compared to 11 reports in 2022. The investigative activities, coordinated by the local judicial authorities, made it possible to report , in a state of freedom, 21 people are under investigation for crimes ranging from receiving stolen works of art to crimes against the landscape, up to clandestine excavations. 11 searches were carried out which allowed the recovery of 75 antiquarian archival and book items; 1681 archaeological and paleontological finds.
The commitment of the TPC soldiers was also expressed in preventive activity, carried out in collaboration with the departments of the Territorial Army, the 5th and 16th Helicopter Nucleus of Pescara and Rieti, the Diving Nucleus of Pescara and in synergy with the staff of the Superintendencies, Archives and Dioceses. It was possible to carry out monitoring of 99 archaeological areas and areas protected by landscape or monumental restrictions, 54 checks in commercial businesses in the sector such as markets, antique shops and fairs and 2 museum checks. These checks, added to those carried out online, in particular on e-commerce sites, made it possible to verify 664 cultural assets, which were also subjected to photographic checks and comparisons with the Illicitly Stolen Cultural Heritage Database to establish their provenance. illicit. In fact, within the Data Bank, managed by the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command, all the information relating to cultural assets illicitly removed in Italy and in foreign countries that require inclusion converges, and with over 7,900 objects registered and 770,000 images stored it is the Largest database dedicated to illicitly stolen cultural assets in the world.
The contribution of the Army offered to the formation of the culture of legality is equally important: the soldiers of the Unit met over 450 pupils who attend the schools of the various districts. Furthermore, a dedicated stand was set up which saw participation in one of the most anticipated events of the year, the “European Researchers’ Night”, also held in the cities of L’Aquila and Teramo last 29 September 2023. Objective of these meetings is to raise awareness among young generations of the importance of protecting and enhancing cultural heritage and illustrating the activities and peculiarities of a department dedicated mainly to the protection of cultural heritage and landscape. The Unit also spoke at various meetings and conferences organized as part of the European Archeology Days. Among the most important activities completed in 2023 are:
1) The return of a bronze bell dating back to 1864 to the parish of Santa Maria Assunta in Ripabottoni (CB) and currently preserved in the local “Paolo Gamba” Parish Museum. The bell had been found by private individuals in the home of a deceased relative, their sensitivity allowed the Carabinieri to recover and return to the community of origin a cultural asset of which all memory had been lost.
The investigations carried out to relocate the property to its original disposition involved various Molise dioceses, parishes and foundries in the area, the local State Archives, the Provincial Directorate of the Revenue Agency of Campobasso and the Superintendency of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Molise.
The investigations carried out made it possible to ascertain that the bell came from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Ripabottoni which had been demolished towards the end of 1950 and then rebuilt.
2) The seizure following an investigative activity coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of L’Aquila and Rieti of an ancient tome dating back to 1662 entitled “Gesta Virtutes et miracula B. Ioannis in Capestrano”, stolen at an unspecified time from the Library of the Franciscan Convent of Artena (RM). The book had been identified during continuous monitoring of the sites and
commerce and auction house catalogs carried out by the military to counter the marketing of cultural goods of illicit origin.
The investigations made it possible to verify that the tome had a note of ownership and a stamp on the title page which indicated that the book belonged to the Convent of S. Maria di Gesù in Montefortino.
3) The return of a painting depicting the immaculate conception to the Parish of San Paolo Apostolo in Fiamignano (RI), an ancient painting dating back to the 18th century, coming from the church of the same name and lost for about thirty years.
The canvas had been fortuitously found in L’Aquila by a private individual, who, immediately noticing the beauty of the painting, contacted the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of L’Aquila.
4) The recovery, during three separate searches, following an investigative activity coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of L’Aquila, of a stone tabernacle dating back to the 16th-17th century, which had been stolen from interior of the Monastery of the Blessed Antonia, located in L’Aquila, 144 archaeological goods, 12 archival documents dating back to 1600-1800 and 2 oil on panel paintings dating back to 1600 of criminal provenance.
5) In Basciano (TE), in collaboration with some residents, four stone inscriptions dating back to the Roman age and originally coming from the local archaeological site were recovered Vicus of San Rustico. The finds, thanks to the profitable synergy between the institutions, were exhibited from July to December 2023 in the Town Hall of Basciano.
6) The seizure in Chieti, following a monitoring activity of e-commerce sites coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Chieti, of various coins of an archaeological nature and specifically silver coins from the Republican era and imperial, coins from the late antique period and medieval specimens from the mints of central-eastern Italy (mints of Ancona, Guardiagrele and Chieti).
