Italian court rules on liability for damaged donated artworks

A legal case in Italy has established that a municipality must compensate heirs for damage to artworks deposited without a formal contract, but the heirs must also reimburse the municipality for storage and transport costs. After an artist's death, his wife and daughter negotiated with a municipality in northern Italy to donate 18 works and deposit 42 others for ten years, plus 58 additional works and 10 objects, with the municipality pledging to preserve and promote them. The works were moved by the municipality but later transferred to a third-party warehouse without notice, where they suffered severe damage from flooding and mud. The heirs sued for breach of deposit contract. The Court of Verona (January 22, 2016) ruled that no deposit contract existed—only a municipal resolution—so contractual liability did not apply. However, the municipality was liable under Article 2037 of the Civil Code for unjustly receiving the works, requiring restitution and damages for deterioration. Simultaneously, the court granted the municipality's counterclaim for reimbursement of transport and storage expenses, as the heirs were unjustly enriched without a formal agreement. The ruling underscores the need for written contracts to clarify responsibilities and cost-sharing between donors and recipients of artworks.