Tag Archives: Italy

Why Italy Should Allow Venice to be Put on the UNESCO List of Endangered Sites

Posted on: September 14, 2023 by Anna Somers Cocks

It is a simple truth that idealistic organisations founded by charismatic individuals, or established in response to extraordinary circumstances, decline the further that time carries them from their Big Bang of fervour and faith. Such a decline is well underway, unfortunately, with the World Heritage Sites, probably the best-known part of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, […]

Artwork-Based Activism, Climate Change and the Right to Protest

Posted on: June 26, 2023 by Tom Lewis

On 12 June 2023 two environmental protesters were convicted by a Vatican court of aggravated damage  to the Laocoön statue, one of the most precious treasures of the Vatican Museums’ collection, believed to have been carved in Rhodes around 40-30 BCE. The protestors, Guido Viero and Ester Goffi, are members of the group Last Generation […]

The Vitruvian Man highlights puzzling elements of Italian cultural heritage laws

Posted on: April 24, 2023 by Chiara Gallo

The ‘Art Collection’ series of jigsaw puzzles by Ravensburger is an ever popular pastime and features many of the world’s most renowned masterpieces, from the likes of Haring and Klimt to Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. In fact, Ravensburger’s recent reproduction of Da Vinci’s Uomo Vitruviano as one of its jigsaws has sparked a legal […]

The perpetual copyright protection of Italian cultural heritage: bypassing the public domain

Posted on: December 2, 2022 by Chiara Gallo

In recent weeks, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus appeared on the headlines of some of the most important news outlets, due to the allegedly ‘unauthorised’ commercial use of the famous masterpiece. The fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier is facing a suit for damages that could exceed £88,000 (€100,000) brought by the Uffizi, the oldest Florentine museum, […]

Certosa di Trisulti: Court maintained the controversial lease

Posted on: August 27, 2020 by Eleonora Chielli

The Administrative Regional Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio) has now ruled on the dispute over the controversial lease of Certosa di Trisulti, previously discussed here. The Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI) has been allowed to maintain the lease and management of this public cultural heritage site in Italy. The controversy began on the 16th of October […]

In matters of export and art, the state always seems to have its way

Posted on: April 7, 2020 by Alexander Herman

When it comes to the export of works of art, the state always wins… or at least it can seem that way. The latest case to offer proof comes from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the matter of R (Simonis) v Arts Council England. Of course, matters of exporting cultural goods […]

Certosa di Trisulti and Steve Bannon: The Controversial Lease of a Public Cultural Heritage Site

Posted on: January 31, 2020 by Eleonora Chielli

The History of Certosa di Trisulti Certosa di Trisulti is a historic building in Collepardo, a small town in the Southern Latium, where Pope Innocenzo III founded its eponymous chartherhouse in 1204. It contains precious artworks and a pharmacy dating back to the 17th century. It was declared a National Monument in 1879. Recent Developments In […]

Da Vinci show opens at the Louvre after latest loan issue resolved

Posted on: October 25, 2019 by Charlotte Dunn

This week, the Louvre’s highly anticipated Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death, opened its doors to the public. However, the process of negotiating the necessary loan agreements with Italy has been complex and controversial. Just days before opening, the loan of one of Da Vinci’s most famous works, the […]

New issue of IAL’s Art Antiquity and Law journal just released

Posted on: October 24, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

Marking the beginning of a new academic year, the latest issue of Art Antiquity & Law, IAL’s quarterly journal, is hot off the press and brings a number of articles ranging from topics such as musical instruments and their legal framework to arbitration, art theft, export of cultural goods and the repatriation claims for the […]

Dispute over the Isleworth Mona Lisa goes to Italian courtrooms

Posted on: September 25, 2019 by Eleonora Chielli

The Court of Florence is dealing with a case involving the ‘Isleworth Mona Lisa’, a painting attributed to Leonardo, though with some uncertainty. Whilst the question of attribution is not the focus of this post, it should be noted that following a debate lasting for more than a century about the attribution of this painting, […]