Scandal in Italy: The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture was accused of stealing a seventeenth-century painting valued at hundreds of thousands of euros

Undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Culture Vittorio Sgarbi He is being investigated on charges of stealing cultural property, including a painting attributed to him Rutilio ManettiWhich was stolen from Bureasco Castle in 2013, and reappeared in another exhibition as the property of the politician and art critic, according to local media. The Prosecutor's Office in Imperia (north) opened an investigation based on another case related to the illegal confiscation of works of art, and one of the crimes was referred to prosecutors in Macerata, in the Marche region (central), where Asgarbi resides, according to the newspaper. open Il Fatto Quotidianowhich had previously dealt with this case with the research program a report From the general channel opinion.

The Carabinieri had already been sent by prosecutors in Macerata to interrogate one of the restorers and owners of the company in Correggio (Reggio Emilia) that had supposedly made a copy of the work, Sgarbi confirms. The issue broke out a few weeks ago, when a report And Il Fatto Quotidiano It was published that Al-Saghirbi opened the exhibition in Lucca (centre) Light painters at any Capture of Saint Peter of Manetti, a painting worth hundreds of thousands of euros, which was stolen, according to photographs in the Interpol database.

Before 2013, the painting was located in a castle in Bureasco in Piedmont (northwest) owned by Margherita Bozzio As Al-Saghiri several times, even one of his assistants offered to buy it, but the offer was always rejected. According to the media outlet's reconstruction, the owner reported that the thieves entered the castle, cut and removed Manetti's cloth, and left in its place a picture of the work. In the Lucca Gallery, the restored painting appears again but with different details, as in the background there is a torch that was missing in the Interpol photo.

According to the first statement of the Undersecretary, the work was found by chance in Villa Medalcina, a noble residence acquired in 2000. Rita Cavallini, Umm Al-Saghirbi, which is a copy. Investigators will have to ascertain whether, as the media claims, he made a copy of the painting for display and added a flame in the background to mislead it so that the painting was not considered stolen.

The controversial undersecretary, the hero of numerous controversies, is also being investigated by the Italian Competition and Market Assurance Authority for allegedly charging fees for consulting assignments and other interventions in events despite his public position. Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano It published a report entitled “Al-Sagharbi: A Golden Hideout Despite the Law: 300,000 Euros in Nine Months,” in which it confirmed that the Undersecretary continued to charge fees for his advice despite holding a public position. This would conflict with a 2004 law that prohibits those who perform government work from “practicing professional activities or acting as independent in matters related to their duties.”

Source: Efi