120 Works of Art Missing from Rai TV in Italy

June 16 2021

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

Here's a curious story that broke last week.

The Italian authorities are investigating the disappearance of 120 works of art from the headquarters of the Italian television company Rai.

Works that have been listed as missing include bronze and gold statues by the sculptor Francesco Messina, an etching that Monet made of Paysage de Verneuil, a Modigliani etching of Petit Fils and an Alfred Sisley etching of Hampton Court. Other paintings listed include Domenica della Buona Gente by Guttuso, Vita nei Campi by Giorgio De Chirico, Il Colosseo by Giovanni Stradone and Porto di Genova by Francesco Menzio.

It is believed that rogue employees are to blame, with some thefts dated as far back to the 1970s.

The journalist Giuseppe Scarpa, who has been investigating the missing works, is quoted as saying:

These were works of great value that were just hanging on the walls of the corridors or rooms in Rai’s buildings, without any alarm system, and so anyone could just walk in and take them.

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