Italian government returns 596 Catholic ex-votos to Mexico

The Italian government has returned 596 Catholic ex-votos dating back to the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to Mexico. Said ex-votos should have been kept in different churches in the country, though they were illegally removed from the national territory by traffickers and taken to Italy in 2018. The relics were recently recovered by the Comando Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Cultural Nucleo de Monza, in Milan .

The recovery of the pieces is framed in cooperation activities between Mexico’s Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Arma dei Carabinieri , derived from a subscription to the 1970 UNESCO convention on measures to be adopted to impede the import, export, and transfer of cultural goods, a legal instrument that reflects an international consensus to protect the values and cultural heritage of civilizations and the return of cultural property to its country of origin.

The pieces were delivered to representatives of the Mexican government Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, Federal Culture Minister, and Diego Prieto Hernández, general director of the INAH , as well as the minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Alberto Bonisoli , in company of the Carabinieri commander Fabrizio Parrulli at the Sala della Crociera , in Rome.

During the ceremony, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero thanked the Italian government on behalf of Mexico and said that the actions undertaken by Italy for the delivery of 596 ex-votos underpinned the country’s commitment to cultural heritage. The cooperation between both countries is framed in both nation’s unwavering commitment to prevent and fight illicit trafficking in cultural property.

The anthropologist Diego Prieto explained that the ex-votos were votive offerings to saints or divinities which usually featured a graphic representation of favors received such as the cure of an illness or acts of salvation.

The pieces were evaluated by experts in easel paintings from the National Coordination for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (CNCPC) at the INAH after major Lanfranco Disibio sent images of all 596 ex-votos recovered to the INAH.

The Mexican experts determined that the technical and iconographic traits of the pieces corresponded with Mexican craftsmanship and had likely been displayed at Mexican temples in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, the State of Mexico, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Puebla, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and Mexico City .

According to an official report, the pieces date back to the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Some were made on wood, others on metal sheets, canvases, and cardboard. Many of the ex-votos seem to have been made with oil paintings.

The assessment was sent to Italian authorities on November 6, 2018 , through the Italian Embassy in Mexico so as to begin the repatriation process. The Mexican government representatives expressed their gratitude to the Italian police forces.

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