Missing $109M Botticelli painting found in southern Italy home

GRAGNANO (Agencies) : A 15th-century masterpiece by Sandro Botticelli, missing since the 1980s, has been rediscovered in a residence in southern Italy.

The painting, portraying the Virgin Mary and infant Christ, was found in a home located in Gragnano, near Naples, as confirmed by the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Naples.

Esteemed for renowned works like “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera,” Botticelli created this masterpiece, estimated by Italian authorities to be valued at a minimum of 100 million euros ($109 million). Commissioned for the Roman Catholic Church in 1470, this 58 x 80-centimeter (23 x 31-inch) artwork was painted in tempera on wood. Initially housed in a church in the Neapolitan suburb of Santa Maria la Carita since the early 1900s, the church was destroyed by fire, prompting the painting’s relocation.

Following an earthquake that damaged the church in 1982, the parish entrusted the painting to a local family named Somma for safekeeping. The Italian Ministry of Culture spokesperson mentioned an official decree, confirming the entrusted status of the painting to the family, clarifying that they are not under any criminal investigation, as reported by CNN.

Initially monitored by local authorities, who provided guidance on its storage and assisted in its relocation and maintenance, the checks on the painting ceased in the 1990s. Consequently, the painting was registered as missing in the culture ministry’s inventory.

The artwork, previously hidden in the Somma family’s farmhouse near Naples, has now been retrieved and will be housed in a museum, as announced by the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.

Comdr. Massimiliano Croce detailed that the painting was located through an updated inventory, linking it to the Somma family, who had displayed it in their residences across the years. Once the specific branch of the family holding the painting was identified, the police collaborated with the local mayor, already cognizant of the Botticelli’s presence in the Somma household, to facilitate its return.

Croce emphasized, “This previously unknown artwork to the public will once again be exhibited thanks to state intervention. We managed this administratively, without involving the Prosecutor’s Office or executing a seizure, largely due to the mayor’s mediation.”

While confirming the family’s continued ownership, Croce added that the artwork would be preserved in a museum.