Word: gubbio
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Dates: during 1977-1977
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...statue was dragged off a sandy seabed in the nets of surprised fishermen from the Italian port of Fano in 1963. A wily antique dealer and his two cousins from the nearby town of Gubbio bought it for $5,500, then kept it in a local priest's house, as they tried to peddle it secretly to European art dealers for $200,000. A Roman antique dealer tipped Italian officials off to the statue's existence. But when police raided the priest's house in 1964, the bronze was gone. In a lengthy court fight, the priest...
News of the purchase renewed Italian ire at the loss of yet another art masterpiece to the U.S. Sergio Matteini Chiari, a magistrate in Gubbio, filed a charge of clandestine export of an artwork against "unknown persons." Until he can fill in the names, however, the action has little force. Higher Italian officials are considering more effective moves, including complaints to Washington...