Italian government minister faces probe over stolen painting

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is dealing with yet another scandal after prosecutors launched an investigation into junior culture minister Vittorio Sgarbi over a stolen painting.

The probe follows an investigation published last December by Italian media outlet Il Fatto Quotidiano and Report, a Rai investigative TV series, which accused Sgarbi of being in possession of a stolen 17th-century painting and tampering with it to hide the theft.

Now prosecutors have opened an investigation into Sgarbi, a renowned art critic and a member of Meloni’s government, for alleged laundering of stolen art, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported Tuesday. Sgarbi denied the accusations, calling the report “ridiculous.”

The painting in question is “La cattura di San Pietro” (The Capture of Saint Peter) by Rutilio di Lorenzo Manetti, and is worth over €200,000 according to Italian outlets. It was reported stolen from a castle in Piedmont in 2013. In 2021 Sgarbi presented a nearly identical painting during an art exhibition in Lucca.

According to Report and Il Fatto, Sgarbi’s painting is the stolen one. The only difference between the two is a candle that appears in the top left corner of Sgarbi’s version. The report argues the candle was added to disguise the theft.

Sgarbi insists he is innocent, arguing the painting stolen from the castle was a copy, while he owns the original. He claims to have found the painting in a villa bought by his mother in 2000.

“I did not receive any notice of investigation,” Sgarbi said. “I don’t know how I would be investigated for a theft I did not commit. And for a crime committed 11 years ago, under circumstances which were not clarified by the investigators at the time.”

The accusations caused uproar among the Italian opposition, featuring calls for Sgarbi to resign and for Meloni to intervene.

“Is it compatible with the image of Italy and the Italian government that an undersecretary of culture is investigated over a stolen painting?” asked Giuseppe Conte, a former prime minister and leader of the opposition 5Star Movement.

“Enough hesitation, Meloni and [Culture Minister Gennaro] Sangiuliano should stop protecting Sgarbi,” said Irene Manzi, a member of Italy’s Democratic Party.

This is only the latest political drama to shake Meloni’s government recently. This week the prime minister suspended an MP from her Brothers of Italy party following an incident in which a gun was fired at a New Year’s Eve party. She is also under mounting pressure to condemn a recent memorial event in Rome at which hundreds of people are alleged to have performed fascist salutes.

Nor is Sgarbi himself a stranger to controversy. Last summer he came under fire for making sexist comments and boasting of his relationships with women during a speech in Rome.