Rome's New Museum for Rescued Art Reveals the Shocking Extent of Looted Antiquities

Have you ever admired the ancient Roman and Greek sculptures, painted pottery, silver coins, and other items on view at museums in the U.S. or the U.K.?

Have you ever admired the ancient Roman and Greek sculptures, painted pottery, silver coins, and other items on view at museums in the U.S. or the U.K.? If so, did you ever stop to think about how those precious antiquities ended up there? The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, boasts that its collection—which contains some 30,000 pieces—is “among the most comprehensive in North America.” The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades was modeled on the ancient Roman Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. Around half a million people every year visit it to admire the antiquities collected by J. Paul…

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