When our Senior Analyst Anthony Vecchione informed me that the Italian government just placed a Minneapolis museum on its cultural sh-t list, it gave me a crazy idea. (More on that later.)
According to the Italians, the Minneapolis Institute of Art has had illegal possession of a statue looted from the ancient Roman city of Stabiae. That city was buried by Vesuvius along with nearby Pompeii in A.D. 79. The statue (right), named Doriforo Stabiae (“The Spear-bearer of Stabia”), was allegedly looted from the archeological site around 1975 and fenced to Swiss art dealer Elie Borowski. In 1984, Italian police located the statue in a German museum and unsuccessfully sued to get it back. Despite the controversy, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) bought the statue in 1986 for $2.5 million.
In February 2022, Italian prosecutors issued an international warrant for the artwork to be impounded and returned. MIA ignored the warrant and had the temerity to arrange for a loan of 45 Renaissance works from Florence’s Uffizi museum. When the news of this loan reached the prosecutor in Torre Annunziata, near Naples, he called Florence’s Mayor Dario Nardella to stop the transfer. As luck would have it Nardella’s roots are Neapolitan, and he promised to help.
“While I do not condemn the loan of the Uffizi works to the MIA,” Nardella said, “on the other hand I say that indeed precisely this availability of Italy to Minneapolis and to many other American museums is an opportunity to be seized. Precisely because we Italians have always been open and generous with the United States and with American museums, we have today one more card to ask for the respect of the principle of genius loci and therefore the respect of international rules and the return of a work like that.” Nardella said he was “ready to lend a hand, if [Italy’s] Minister of Culture agrees, in collaboration with him, so that Florence can be at the forefront in obtaining the return of the sculpture.”
So, with a little Italian unity MIA and the city of Minneapolis now find themselves cultural outlaws. In response, MIA asserts that it has always acted “responsibly and proactively” with respect to claims related to its collection. However, it added, “where proof has not been provided, as well as where MIA has evidence reasonably demonstrating that a claim is not supported, MIA has declined to transfer the work.” The museum called Italy’s new ban on loans “contrary to decades of exchanges between museums.” How will this all end? Stay tuned.
Now to the crazy idea. What if Italy’s Ministry of Culture banned cultural loans to American cities that have destroyed or removed statues of Columbus? Admittedly, it’s a stretch to link a park statue with museum loans, but it might put some cities on the spot.
Chicago’s last mayor removed three statues of Columbus from their pedestals ‘to protect them’ from vandals – they have never been returned. Cities like Baltimore, Boston, and Schenectady, NY have lost their statues to mobs, without consequences. In Philadelphia, attorney George Bochetto got their statue returned but the sore-loser mayor covered it with a wooden box. Bochetto had to go back to court to get the box removed.
There should be some incentive for all American cities to protect these public monuments. At the moment only costly lawsuits are available to our community and frustrating follow-up when mayors ignore court mandates. But does Italy care if Columbus is trashed?
Italy doesn’t celebrate a national Columbus Day – he was Genovese and discovering America cost Italy’s maritime cities their Asian monopolies. Besides, Italian consulates don’t like to make waves. Finally, the Italic Institute’s unhappy experience with the Italian government over restoring to our community La Casa Italiana at Columbia University leaves us dubious of any meaningful Italian cooperation.
But, if any of our national organizations think this idea is worth a try, give it a shot. -JLM
I guess its a matter what statues we are talking about… I am sure all the Italian government has to do is start a rumor that the Spear bearer was Columbuses great grandfather and the politically correct in Minneapolis will make sure the statue is out of the museum!
And as for the political correctness of the various Italian consulates, they march to their own drums….like all consulates, they are pretty much designed for commerce, money and prestige, and not a big shot in the arm for Italian American organizations at all……Even the movie Cabrini alluded to it when thousands of Italian nationals were suffering in the urban ghettos, the Italian government did not play a major relief roll, instead they were off trying to build a colonial empire in Libya and Ethiopia…which in turn contributed to more immigration as a way to avoid the draft. It just is what it is….
Although it is generally forgotten, the approach of the Italian government changed completely during Fascism. Fascism tried to promote Italianita’ among Italians in America. It also fought against negative racist stereotypes. In particular, it promoted the Italian navigators and the “hard-working Italians” cliche’. Check out:
Pretelli, Matteo (2004) “La risposta del fascismo agli stereotipi degli italiani all’estero.” AltreItalie: international journal of studies on the peoples of Italian origin in the world, Volume 28 . pp. 48-66. ISSN 1120-0413.
The first thing that greets you as you exit the train station in Genoa is a huge–and I do mean huge–statue of the Great Navigator.
There is also a replica of one of his ships in a nearby maritime museum. Ditto the promotion of his birth home in the city center.
He’s not a forgotten man but true, he’s not a #1 symbol for Italian culture, either.
Perhaps some recent, newly-formed alliances between the city of Genoa and national Italian American organizations can yield some fruit on this issue.
Incidentally, Genoa should be on every visitor’s list. It tends to get lost amongst the Big Three: Rome, Firenze, and Venice. But it was a maritime power and has some sights and museums just as worthy as many of those in the aforementioned cities.