On May 26th, the special unit of the Carabinieri police devoted to the protection of cultural heritage recovered three frescoes stolen from Pompeii and smuggled out of Italy in 1957 along with other ancient artworks that had ended up in the United States through the illegal art market. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini took the opportunity to address the grave issue of defending the world’s cultural heritage from increasing threats, whether it be in the form of illegal trafficking or of targeted destruction by terrorist groups like ISIS.
