Numerous modern art pieces seized from the Italian mafia are now on display in Milan, featuring works by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. The exhibition, titled 'SalvArti (Save Arts): From Confiscations to Public Collections,' opened this week at Milan's Palazzo Reale. It showcases over 80 artworks that Italian authorities have retrieved during operations against organized crime.
Maria Rosaria Lagana, the head of Italy's agency responsible for managing these assets, stated to local media, 'Works intended to be hidden within the networks of organized crime are now returned to the community, symbolizing resistance against crime.' She added, 'It's a rebirth for these pieces. It's akin to excavating them from the ground, like archaeologists, and presenting them for public view.'
The collection spans from the early 20th century to the early 2000s, including Warhol's 'Summer Arts in the Parks' and Dalí's lithograph of 'Romeo and Juliet.' The exhibition was first previewed in Rome last month and will be in Milan until late January before moving to Reggio Calabria, a city deeply rooted in the 'Ndrangheta mafia's territory. It will be showcased there until April, after which the artworks will be distributed to various state museums across Italy.
At least 20 of the pieces were reportedly seized from a 'Ndrangheta mafia boss in 2016, with the remainder confiscated from a global money laundering network dismantled in 2013. The exhibition also includes newspaper clippings and videos documenting the police recovery of these artworks, which are often used as currency in arms and drug trafficking.
In 2016, Italian police recovered two Vincent Van Gogh paintings, stolen from a museum in Amsterdam in 2002, from a property near Naples belonging to detained mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale. Each painting was estimated to be worth €50 million.
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