A dark chapter of art theft has been transformed into a celebration of cultural recovery in Milan. “Save Arts: From Confiscations to Public Collections” opened on December 3 at the Palazzo Reale, showcasing 80 masterpieces once hidden in the shadowy networks of organized crime.
The exhibit features iconic works by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, and Robert Rauschenberg, among others. Highlights include Dalí’s Romeo and Juliet lithograph and Warhol’s Summer Arts in the Parksseries. The collection, spanning from the early 20th century to the 2000s, was seized during police crackdowns on mafia groups and international money laundering operations.
Maria Rosaria Lagana, a leading investigator, called the exhibit a “rebirth” for these artworks, adding,
It’s like digging treasures out of the earth and finally sharing them with the public.
After Milan, the exhibit will travel to Reggio Calabria—an ’Ndrangheta mafia stronghold—before concluding in April. The recovered works will then be donated to state museums, reclaiming their place in Italy’s cultural heritage.
Accompanied by videos and news clippings of their dramatic recovery, the exhibit is a powerful statement of art’s resilience and triumph over crime.
