Italy's Push to Repatriate the Victorious Youth from Getty Museum Gains Momentum

A resolution by Italian Senator Margherita Corrado, approved by the Senate Culture Committee, may mark a turning point in the decades-long dispute over the Victorious Youth (also known as the Athlete of Fano), a Greek bronze statue attributed to Lysippos. The statue was discovered by Italian fishermen in the Adriatic Sea in 1964, sold to Italian dealers, and purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu for $4 million in 1977. Italy first requested its return in 1989, and in 2018 the Italian Court of Cassation ruled that Italy has a legal right to the statue. The Getty contends the statue was found in international waters and is not Italian property. The statue is valued at approximately $16 million. In April 2021, Fano Mayor Massimo Seri proposed making the Athlete of Fano the symbol of the G20 Culture meeting on illicit art trafficking, but the proposal was not approved. Following the Getty's refusal to recognize the 2018 ruling, Italy's Ministry of Culture limited relations with the museum to ongoing projects as of June 24, 2020. The case has been ongoing for 57 years.