The Guardia Civil has successfully recovered sixty-two cultural items valued at over three million euros. These items were illegally exported from Spain to Italy by a German couple living in Marbella. Among them is a notable altarpiece that initiated the investigation, along with several Renaissance triptychs and pieces attributed to artists such as Amedeo Modigliani, Auguste Rodin, and Brueghel.

The operation, named Altarpiece, commenced in June two thousand twenty-three after the Carabinieri alerted the Guardia Civil regarding the seizure of a polychrome wooden altarpiece from the sixteenth century at a mansion in Lesa, Italy. The initial request for exportation of this altarpiece had been denied by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in two thousand eighteen, leading authorities to discover that the couple had smuggled over ninety artworks out of Spain.

Authorities found many of these pieces in the same Italian house where the original altarpiece was located, as well as in art galleries and private residences across Genoa and Milan. Some artworks had already been sold and exported to other countries. The investigation has been led by the Instruction Court Number One in Marbella, which has worked diligently to retrieve these items that are still unaccounted for in various locations.

A restitution ceremony was held this Thursday at the Gallery Sabauda in Turin, where the recovered cultural heritage was returned to Spain, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to protect and restore cultural assets lost to illegal trade.