"These works were legitimately moved from Italy inside the Italian territory to preserve them, and they remain part of Italian heritage," Roberto Menia, a senator for Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party who is descended from Istrian exiles, told The Art Newspaper. "Slovenia is talking about the restitution of something that was never its own, and that has always been Italian," he added, stressing painter Carpaccio's Venetian roots."
"Madonna and Child Enthroned with Six Saints (1518) depicts the Virgin and Child flanked by saints and serenading angel musicians. The work was painted for the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Piran, a town on the Adriatic coast in an area historically known as Istria, which is today divided between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It was among dozens of works removed from the region in 1940, when Istria fell entirely within Italy's borders, and relocated for safeguarding during The Second World War."
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Six Saints (1518) by Vittore Carpaccio was painted for the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Piran, Istria. The painting was removed from the region in 1940 and stored and later displayed at the Basilica of Sant'Antonio in Padua from 1943. On 4 September the work was returned to the church in Piran after lobbying by friars in Padua. The return coincided with the Italian president's state visit to Slovenia. Right-wing Italian politicians have denounced the restitution as a betrayal of Istrian exiles and assert the work remains part of Italian heritage.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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