Vittorio Sgarbi under new investigation for two allegedly stolen artworks

Vittorio Sgarbi, former Italian undersecretary for culture, faces a new investigation involving two allegedly stolen artworks: a 17th-century painting and a sculpture. The inquiry, led by journalist Thomas Mackinson for Il Fatto Quotidiano and the TV program Report, claims the works were stolen from a noble palace and a burial mound between the 1980s and 1990s, then reappeared in exhibitions at Ferrara and Rovereto, where Sgarbi holds influential positions. The painting, a copy of Giovanni Battista Benvenuti's "Compianto sul Cristo morto," was scheduled for the exhibition "Ferrara e il Cinquecento" at Palazzo dei Diamanti on October 12, 2024, but was seized by Carabinieri on October 9, 2024. The sculpture, "Madre e figlio" by Raffaele Consortini, was shown at the Mart in Rovereto in the 2022-2023 exhibition "Giotto e il Novecento." Sgarbi's press office denies the allegations, stating the painting was bought legally in 2022 and the sculpture is different from the stolen one. Sgarbi is not currently indicted for these two works, but is under investigation for the earlier Manetti case.