European court backs Italy in Greek statue dispute with Getty Museum

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled in favour of Italy's long-standing demand that the Getty Villa Museum in the United States return an ancient Greek statue which Rome claims was smuggled out of the country decades ago.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled in favour of Italy's long-standing demand that the Getty Villa Museum in the United States return an ancient Greek statue which Rome claims was smuggled out of the country decades ago. The bronze, life-size statue known as the "Victorious Youth" is of a naked young man crowning himself with a wreath. It was made by Greek sculptor Lysippos between 300 and 100 BC and discovered in 1964 by a fisherman in the Adriatic Sea, off the central Italian town of Pedaso.

After being sold several times, it was bought in 1977 in Munich by the Getty Trust for $3.95 million. It is now on display at the Getty Villa Museum, in Malibu, California, which showcases Greek and Roman antiquities. But Italy always believed it was smuggled out of the country and acquired illegally and has made several attempts to recover the statue, including through international police authorities and diplomacy.

In its decision, the ECHR said the 2019 confiscation order issued by Italy's highest court, aimed at recovering the piece, was reasonable and "proportionate to the aim of ensuring the return of an object that was part of Italy's cultural heritage". It added Italian authorities had demonstrated that the statue was part of the country's cultural heritage and that the Getty Trust "had disregarded the requirements of the law, at the very least negligently, or perhaps in bad faith" by buying the piece without proof of its legitimate provenance.

In 2019, when appealing to the European court, the J. Paul Getty Trust claimed the confiscation order was illegitimate and that the statue was not Italian, as it was found in international waters. "In its ruling, the European Court has unequivocally recognised the rights of the Italian state," Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement.

He added that Italy had interrupted collaborations with cultural institutions that did not respect confiscation orders and that since becoming minister, in October 2022, "hundreds" of pieces had been recouped from the United States and 750 from Britain. The Getty Villa Museum was not immediately available for comment. The court does not have jurisdiction over the United States.

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