House arrest for Mario Pagano, the superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Caserta and Benevento , on the order of the Gip of the court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere. The 64-year-old is accused of receiving stolen goods.

On 28 September Pagano was caught red-handed by the carabinieri of the Tpc Nucleus (Protection of Cultural Heritage) of Naples while he was trying to exchange various archaeological finds with a 70-year-old seller already known to the police at a fair. On that occasion they were both arrested because they were found in possession of 78 bronze coins of various periods from clandestine excavations and two ancient books. For them the magistrate had ordered the obligation to stay.

The carabinieri had subsequently seized, in Pagano's house and office, another ancient book and various archaeological finds. The man had defended himself by claiming to be a collector and to have bought the objects at various fairs. Investigations subsequently confirmed the illicit origin of the stolen goods. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere thus requested and obtained from the magistrate the arrest of the superintendent from Campania.

Among the seized finds are the volume "Officia Sanctorum Salernitana" , stolen from the University Library in the Humanistic Area of Salerno, an oil painting on canvas depicting "Crucifixion" , stolen from the Castle of Mercogliano (Avellino), another painting depicting Jesus and the episode of the Via Crucis , stolen from the Church of Santa Margherita in the Municipality of Olevano Romano (Rome). And then again, four volumes dated 1541 , stolen from the Library of the Convent of San Pietro ad Aram in Naples, the volume "Marmora Pisaurensia Notis. Illustrata" , stolen from the Liciniana Municipal Library of Termini Imerese (Palermo), and a glass ointment with flat bottom of the imperial age 1st-2nd century AD

(Unioneonline/vf)

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