Ancient Fresco Depicting Hercules Returned to Italy Along with 59 Other Trafficked Artifacts Worth Over $20 Million

On Monday, a fresco depicting Hercules, originally from Herculaneum, was returned to Italy along with 59 other ancient pieces that had been illegally trafficked to the United States. Last summer, U.S. authorities announced that the fresco and dozens of other trafficked objects, which ended up in private collections in the United States, would be returned to Italy.

The fresco, titled “Young Hercules and the snake”, was displayed among other archaeological artifacts stolen from Italy and sold in the U.S. by international art traffickers during a press conference in Rome. Among the more precious pieces returned to Italy was a B.C. kylix, or shallow two-handled drinking vessel, some 2,600 years old.

Italian officials estimated that the returned works are worth more than $20 million (18 million euros) overall. The fresco and other artifacts were originally from Herculaneum, a city destroyed along with Pompeii by the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The return of the fresco and other artifacts is a major victory for Italy in its fight against international art trafficking. The Italian government has been working to recover stolen artifacts for years, and the return of these pieces is a significant step forward in that effort.