The Italian state has definitively lost a 14th-century painting, a 'Madonna and Child' by the Master of the Baptistery of Parma, after a catastrophic bureaucratic error. In 2020, a Swiss company purchased the work at auction in Italy for €38,000, classified as a modest 19th-century devotional piece. The Ministry of Culture, then led by Dario Franceschini, issued an export certificate, noting the work's limited quality and local religious interest. The date '1350' on the back was misread as '1850' due to wear. After export, a 2022 restoration revealed the true date and the work's significant artistic value. Christie's later estimated it at £400,000–£500,000. The state tried to annul the export authorization, but the buyer successfully challenged this in court. The Council of State's final ruling in May 2025 confirmed the legality of the export, making the loss irreversible.
This matters because it represents a spectacular failure of cultural heritage protection by the Italian state, resulting in the permanent loss of a rare 14th-century masterpiece to a foreign buyer. The case highlights critical weaknesses in the export control system, where a simple misreading of a date by ministry experts led to a multi-million-euro loss of national patrimony. It also sets a legal precedent that may make it harder for Italy to reclaim or block the export of artworks once official authorization is granted, even if based on a clear error. The affair underscores the tension between bureaucratic procedure and the preservation of cultural heritage, and raises questions about the expertise and diligence of state art officials.