Roman-era mosaic panel stolen by Nazis during World War II returns to Pompeii
The artwork was repatriated from Germany through diplomatic channels, arranged by the Italian Consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, after having been returned from the heirs of the last owner, a dead German citizen.
The owner had received the mosaic as a gift from a Wehrmacht captain assigned to the military supply chain in Italy during the war.
The mosaic — dating between the mid- to last century BC and the first century — is considered a work of "extraordinary cultural interest".
"It is the moment when the theme of domestic love becomes an artistic subject," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and co-author of an essay dedicated to the returned work.
"While the Hellenistic period, from the 4th to the first century BC, exulted the passion of mythological and heroic figures, now we see a new theme."
The heirs of the mosaic's last owner in Germany contacted the Carabinieri unit in Rome dedicated to protecting cultural heritage, which was in charge of the investigation, asking for information on how to return the mosaic to the Italian state.
Authorities carried out the necessary checks to establish its authenticity and provenance, and then worked to repatriate the mosaic in September 2023.
The collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii was also key, as it made it possible to trace it to near the Mount Vesuvius volcano, despite the scarcity of data on the original context of its discovery, the Carabinieri said.
The panel was then assigned to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, where it will be protected and available for educational and research purposes.
"Today's return is like healing an open wound," Mr Zuchtriegel said, adding that the mosaic would help historians reconstruct the story of that period, before Pompeii was destroyed by the Vesuvius eruption in AD 79.
The park's director also highlighted how the artworks' return signalled an important change in "mentality" as "the sense of possession [of stolen art] becomes a heavy burden."
"We see that often in the many letters we receive from people who may have stolen just a stone, to bring home a piece of Pompeii," Mr Zuchtriegel added.
He recalled the so-called "Pompeii curse", which according to a popular superstition hits whoever steals artefacts in Pompeii.
The legend suggests that those who steal finds from the ancient city of Pompeii will experience bad luck or misfortune.
It has been fuelled over the years by several tourists who return stolen items, claiming they brought them bad luck and caused tragic events.
AP
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Street in Italy named after Tassie farmer for kindness shown to Italian POW
In a small hilltop town above Italy's Adriatic coast, where streets named after foreigners are almost nonexistent, one bears the decidedly un-Italian moniker of a farmer from Tasmania's north-west. The street, Via Harvey Ling (Harvey Ling Way), in Montenero di Bisaccia, honours a remarkable friendship that started a world away during the dark days of World War II, survived decades across continents and continues today through two families. Some of those relatives of Francis "Harvey" Ling gathered recently in the street with his name to commemorate a story that began with young village man Croce Travaglini joining the Italian military, being captured by the Allies in Libya, shipped to India, then Australia in 1944 as a prisoner of war, and, finally, to a corner of Tasmania. There, Harvey and his family toiled on their 30-hectare dairy and vegetable farm at West Pine, near Penguin, doing their best to help the war effort during a labour shortage. Harvey applied to a government scheme assigning POWs as farm workers and was sent Croce. For three years Croce, who died at the age of 90 in 2010, worked and lived with the Lings before returning to his home at the end of the war. His great-nephew, Giuseppe Chiappini, says Croce carried a love for the Ling family for the rest of his life and, to ensure the "incredible" story of their friendship was kept from the "dark of the past", he asked the local authorities to name a street after Harvey. Author Joanne Tapiolas, who has researched the history of Italian POWs in Australia for her book Walking in Their Boots, says their personal tales give colour to stories captured mostly in black-and-white images. During World War II, as fighting drained the country's workforce, more than 13,000 Italian POWs were sent to work on farms or government projects, such as wood chopping for industry, or growing produce. After a successful trial in Victoria and New South Wales in 1943, farmers were invited to apply to have an Italian POW work on their property. Joanne said some farmers refused to take part, but the "dire" shortage of agricultural labour left most with no option. Positive feedback from the trial also encouraged uptake. "It was for the betterment of everyone that these men weren't behind barbed wire but they were out physically doing something important and worthwhile," Joanne said. Some Italian POWs worried about how they would be treated and were reluctant to work on farms, but the sight of a family on their arrival at a farm often made their fears melt away, Joanne said. "It was not like they were home but they were in a family environment and they would be safe." A letter written by an Italian POW in Tasmania to fellow POWs in a camp in NSW shows how deeply affecting and comforting the presence of family could be. "He said, 'The work keeps me busy … at the end of the day, I pick up the little girl, I put her in my arms and I sing her Italian songs,'" Joanne said. "He said: 'I am happy, I am happy'." Many farms and rural communities welcomed the Italian POWs, but townsfolk were not always accepting, Joanne said. While farmers had little option but to employ a POW or face potential bankruptcy from reduced output or a spoiled harvest due to lack of workers, some distrusted or disliked the Italians. For many, they represented the enemy and an affront to returned soldiers or soldiers still fighting abroad. The healthy appearance of the POWs, who had access to fresh and plentiful food on farms that "townies" could not access, stirred further resentment. "They've got fresh eggs, fresh milk, butter, chickens and access to bacon," Joanne said. "But town people, they've got rations, they can't have butter, but they've heard the Italian POWs have butter." Julie Orr, granddaughter of Harvey, said Croce experienced discrimination in Tasmania, but what stood out to the Italian POW was Harvey's outrage and support. "[Pop] took a load of potatoes down to the wharf and the wharfies refused to load it because he had Croce with him, he was furious," Julie said. Croce kept contact with the Ling family through letters and cards until his death in 2010, more than six decades after living in Tasmania. Giuseppe assisted him in writing to the family by translating his messages into English. Today, he speaks with Harvey's descendants through video calls and online messaging but members of the two families have met in person over the decades. Of particular significance was a visit to Italy in the 1980s by a granddaughter of the Lings, Lisbeth Alley, who was able to locate Croce by asking neighbours and townsfolk about his whereabouts. "I took them to my great-uncle's house and you can't imagine how happy my uncle was when he had the opportunity to meet a member of the family that saved him from the war," Giuseppe said. Giuseppe said a street sign in Harvey Ling's name preserves the story of friendship between an Italian soldier and Australian family for future generations. "This incredible story of friendship couldn't die with [my great-uncle], it couldn't disappear with him. Joanne said that while some did not maintain a continuous connection, or any connection at all, there are examples of Italian POWs, farming families and younger generations continuing the legacy of friendship. Another farming family, the Dixon family of Tasmania, reunited with the family of Italian POW, Giuseppe "Josh" Quarta, in recent years. Joanne said the family was able to share photographs with Quarta's children that they'd never seen. She said she got "joy and satisfaction" from being able to assist families to reunite or from sharing information families did not know, through her research in archives and on social media. "When Antonio [Quarta's son] saw the photo of his father and the whole [Dixon] family he was like, 'So you mean he was welcomed in the whole family?' She said not all stories were positive and that some Italian POWs were treated badly, attempted violence against farmers or were sent back to internment camps because of bad behaviour. Repatriation of Italian POWs mostly occurred in 1946 and 1947. Some escaped return and a small number were naturalised after handing themselves in from the 1950s onwards. Croce had hoped to return to Tasmania, but Harvey could not afford to sponsor him and died at 63, just a decade after Croce's return to Italy. Joanne Tapiolas continues to look into the history and assist families with their research, in the hope of providing greater depth to the "black and white" records and images. "When you get this connection between Italian families and Australian families, suddenly you have the colour and that's the real story. "It's like the circle is closed."
