Media reports say most of the items were discovered at an Italian art market in the northern Italian town of Roncadelle in 2007, sparking a long investigation into the provenance of the items.

"We are proud to return these pieces that represent the heritage and identity of the Chinese people to their rightful place," Bonisoli said in a statement.

"This is a tremendous gesture of good will," Giuseppe Calabi, a senior partner with the Studio CBM & Partners law firm and a specialist in issues related to art and art history, said in an interview.

Both Cortese and Calabi had praise for the specially trained Italian Carabinieri Art Squad, which uncovered the trove of artifacts in 2007 and which continues to work as the vanguard of art police squads.

"The Carabinieri are well trained and have access to an extensive database of items that have been stolen or smuggled from their rightful home," Cortese said.

While the number of cases involving stolen or smuggled cultural or historical artifacts has been on the rise, the number of robberies has declined in recent decades.

"The rise we're seeing is because officials are more attentive and methods of identifying displaced artifacts are improving," said Cortese, adding that the high point for smugglers was in the period before World War II, when few controls were in place.

After the agreement between Bonisoli and Luo, the enforcement may become even stronger. The two countries have agreed to work together to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural and historical artifacts.

• 上一页
• 1
• 2
• 全文阅读