Fake Warhol, Haring and Banksy works seized in Italy

Des faux Warhol, Haring et Banksy saisis en Italie

Italian authorities have seized 143 counterfeit artworks attributed to Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Banksy. The works were on display in the exhibition "Pop to Street Art: Influences" in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and were provided on loan by a Belgian company. The carabinieri, in a transnational investigation extending to Liège, Belgium, identified the operation as part of a larger forgery network known as "Operation Cariatide." Eleven works remain under expert examination.

US Returns 337 Looted Objects to Italy in Repatriation Effort

The United States officially returned 337 looted antiquities to Italy at a ceremony held at La Marmora barracks in Rome. Of these, 221 objects were repatriated through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, while the remaining 116 were recovered on April 10, 2026, via joint efforts by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the District Attorney’s Office, and Christie’s New York auction house. The objects span from the Villanovan era (900–700 BCE) to the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) and include a 1st-century CE marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and two Egyptian basalt sculptures.

Forged Picasso prints sold at Stuttgart auction recovered as part of international police operation

Two forged Pablo Picasso prints from his Suite Vollard series, sold at a Stuttgart auction house, have been recovered as part of an international police operation led by Italian authorities. The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) announced that an Italian national, believed to be a professional art restorer, is suspected of consigning four forged works to the auction house over several years. Two prints were recovered—one in Germany's Rhineland region and one in Austria—while two others were seized before delivery. The operation, code-named "Minotauro bis," began in 2022 and has led to the seizure of 104 fake contemporary artworks, the dismantling of a forgery laboratory in Rome, and the freezing of bank accounts and vehicles. Forgers used complex methods including fake watermarks, scanned images, and aging paper with coffee or tea.

pompeii hercules fresco location

Archaeologists have identified the original location of a looted fresco fragment from Pompeii that was repatriated from the U.S. to Italy in 2023. The fragment, depicting baby Hercules wrestling a snake, was found to have once decorated the upper lunette of a private chapel (sacellum) at the ancient villa of Civita Giuliana. The discovery was made during excavations in 2023 and 2024, and the fragment will be exhibited at the Antiquarium of Boscoreale from mid-January.