Italy Creates New Museum for Trafficked Ancient Artifacts

Italy Creates New Museum for Trafficked Ancient Artifacts
Etruscan jars from the 7th century B.C. are displayed in the new "Museum of Rescued Art" in Rome on June 15, 2022. Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo
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ROME—Italy has been so successful in recovering ancient artworks and artifacts that were illegally exported from the country it has created a museum for them.

The Museum of Rescued Art was inaugurated Wednesday in a cavernous structure that is part of Rome’s ancient Baths of Diocletian. The Octagonal Hall exhibition space was designed to showcase Italy’s efforts, through patient diplomacy and court challenges, to get valuable antiquities repatriated, often after decades in foreign museums or private collections.