Rome. The activity of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in 2023: 105.474 works of art recovered for a total estimated value of approximately €264 million.

In 2023 the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Command, placed in direct collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and distributed across sixteen Units and a Section in the various Italian Regions, dependent on the Rome and Monza Groups, a national Operational Department with Sections specialized by subject and a Command Office which manages the oldest and most extensive database of works to be searched for in the world (over 1.300.000 files), have recovered 105.474 works of art with a total estimated value of €264.055.727.

This is the overall data from the "Operational Activity 2023" document of the Specialized Unit of the Force, established in 1969 to honor article 9 of the Italian Constitution (“the Republic protects the landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation”) and which, in over half a century of life, has returned to their legitimate owners, public and private, more than three million cultural assets.

The operational activity highlights in 2023 a gradual decrease in crimes against cultural heritage. In particular, just over a year after the entry into force of Law no. 22 of 22 March 2022 - with amendments to the criminal provisions regarding the protection of cultural heritage currently contained mainly in the Code of Cultural Heritage (Legislative Decree 42/2004) and integrating the Penal Code with 17 new articles (from 518-bis to 518-undevicies) – the first positive signs are recorded, as can be seen from the comparative analysis of the data compared to 2022:

- slight reduction in thefts (from 333 to 267) and stolen objects (from 4.144 to 3.483);
- increase in recovered assets (from 48.522 to 105.474) of which:
• archaeological finds (from 17.275 to 67.963);
• book/archival (from 8.653 to 24.445);
• numismatic goods (from 48 to 286);
• objects of a graphic/pictorial and mosaic nature (from 328 to 1.102);
- intensification of checks on archaeological areas and sites (from 1.538 to 1.874);
- increase in the results of repressive activity:
• arrest ordered by the AG (from 6 to 20);
• reported for criminal association (from 39 to 47);
• referred for clandestine excavation (from 66 to 130).

Going into detail, the enforcement activity conducted in 2023 allowed the recovery, in the respective specialty sectors, of 67.963 archaeological finds and 10.273 paleontological finds and the referral of 130 people for clandestine excavations. In the antiques sector there was a significant drop in thefts, especially in private homes (from 91 to 79) and places of worship (from 135 to 92). In the period under review, they were 1.957 checks were also carried out at antique dealers, 624 checks at markets and fairs, with the recovery of 105.474 assets, of which 24.445 archival and bibliographic documents, 1.102 paintings and 369 sculptures.

The repressive activity made it possible to refer 477 subjects for receiving stolen goods and 37 for illicit export of goods of cultural interest. As part of the fight against counterfeiting, 109 subjects were referred (+29% more than 2022); seize 1.936 counterfeit works (+56% compared to 2022), of which 61 from the antiquarian, archival and book sector, 535 from the archaeological and paleontological sector and 1.340 from contemporary art. The value of the aforementioned art forgery, if placed on the market, was estimated at approximately €45.399.150.

During 2023, for landscape and monument protection activities, the TPC Command has prepared 1.991 control services of land and marine landscape areas, reporting 78 subjects for damage and 202 for crimes against the landscape.

Related to the control activity on the web, due to the growing use of electronic channels also for illicit trade and the export of cultural goods, the need arose for the TPC Command to update its IT research and control systems, through the SWOADS (Stolen Works Of Art Detection System) project, which constitutes an Artificial Intelligence IT system that allows the automatic collection of data and images from the web, deep web and social media, to compare them with photos of the works to be searched: in 2023, over 984 websites were monitored and 6.674 assets examined. This control activity made it possible to recover 31.689 assets from the websites (compared to 4.935 the previous year) of which:

• 18.734 archival and book assets;
• 536 archaeological finds;
• 9.337 numismatic items;
• 291 false works;
• 60 sculptures;
• 147 paintings;
in addition to the referral of 101 people to the Judicial Authority.

Immediate results in the action to combat organized crime operating in the cultural heritage sector were recorded with:
- L 'Operation “Cales”, conducted by the CC TPC Unit of Naples, which allowed the arrest in flagrante delicto of two people, caught in the act of carrying out clandestine excavations and stopped after the illicit seizure of archaeological assets, as well as the arrest of a further person on the border with Switzerland for illicit export of cultural goods. The activity allowed the recovery of multiple archaeological finds, including over 1.700 coins, and the seizure of 15 metal detectors for the search for ancient metal artefacts.

- L 'Operation “Canusium” of the TPC Unit of Bari, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Trani, which made it possible to dismantle a criminal association aimed at clandestine excavation, theft, receiving and illicit export of archaeological and numismatic finds. During the investigation, a total of 3.586 archaeological, numismatic and ceramic objects of inestimable historical, artistic and commercial value were found and seized in various regions of Italy. 51 individuals were investigated and 21 restrictive measures were issued.

As part of the collaboration with other Commands and Bodies, we highlight theOperation PANDORA VIII with Spanish leadership, in which Italy participates with the role of co-leader, during which checks aimed at combating illicit trafficking of cultural goods were carried out with the following operational results:

- 107 items seized, including n. 87 ceramics, 5 coins/medals, 2 documents/books, 13 paintings;
- 1.462 dubious objects, but not subjected to seizure: 11 carpets/embroidery/tapestry, 34 ceramics, 2 documents/books, 100 drawings, 120 furniture, 65 icons, 3 mosaics, 940 paintings, 4 prints, 55 religious objects, 115 statues/sculptures, 13 other objects of various nature.

Among the main actions carried out at an international level, the recovery of cultural assets belonging to the unavailable heritage of the Italian State, the consolidated collaboration between TPC staff and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office of New York (DAO), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is of particular importance.
This synergy has made it possible to identify, seize and repatriate 1.093 works of art of valuable value, proceeds of thefts and/or clandestine excavations, illicit exports and stolen goods for a total value of hundreds of millions of euros, in addition to the inestimable historical value- cultural. Among the aforementioned repatriations, a marble head depicting the emperor Septimius Severus stands out, dated 2nd century AD., proceeds of an armed robbery perpetrated by unknown persons on 18 November 1985 against the Antiquarium of the Campania amphitheater of Santa Maria Capua Vetere (CE), located at auction in New York with a starting price of $600.000.

2023 also saw the intervention of the "Blue Helmets of Culture" Task Force with emergency actions following the floods in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany during which activities the following were recovered in the respective regions:

– 48.646 ancient books, 6.305 linear meters of archival documentation, 75 paintings and drawings, 22 statues and busts, 265 sculptures of various materials, 147 ancient weapons and related ammunition, 1.114 war relics and various archaeological and anthropological finds;
– 632 linear meters of archival assets, 9000 photographic negatives and 2 ecclesiastical assets.

The publication “Operational Activities 2023” is available on the sites https://cultura.gov.it/carabinieritpc e www.carabinieri.it