Return to Monselice

In 1979, over forty works of art were stolen from Monselice Castle, a residence where Vittorio Cini used to enjoy leisure activities and house part of his historic art collection. Thanks to investigations by the Venice Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, three of these works were fortunately recovered and, between 2001 and 2015, returned to the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, which owned the castle at the time of the theft. The works are: a Po Valley artist (Cremona ?) from the last quarter of the 16th century Adoration of the Shepherds, a 17th-century St Luke the Evangelist attributed to Pietro Bellotti, both oil on panel, and a late 15th-century Lombard School polychrome wood bas-relief with the Adoration of the Child. Thanks to an agreement between the Veneto Region, which now owns Monselice Castle, and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, the works recovered by the Carabinieri will be returned to the splendid setting chosen for them by Vittorio Cini.

The three works will be handed over at an official ceremony with the following speakers:

Francesco Calzavara

Councillor for Planning, Programme Implementation, Relations with the Regional Council, Budget and Heritage, General Affairs, Local Agencies, Veneto Region

Francesca Scatto

Chairman of the Sixth Standing Council Committee (Education, Training and Labour Policies; Research Policies; Culture, Tourism and Sports Policies), Veneto Regional Council

Cristiano Corazzari

Councillor for Territory, Culture, Security, Migratory Flows, Hunting and Fishing, Veneto Region

Giorgia Bedin

Mayor of Monselice 

Aldo Rozzi Marin

Sole Director, Marco Polo Ltd.

Renata Codello

General Secretary, Fondazione Giorgio Cini 

Christian Costantini

Commander, Venice Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit

Luca Massimo Barbero

Director, Fondazione Giorgio Cini Institute of Art History