
The day is approaching when the Parthenon sculptures will return from London to Athens
The Italian news agency Ansa reported that contacts are intensifying in order to return the Parthenon sculptures that are in the British Museum to Athens.
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"The entire international discussion about the return of the marbles to Greece has restarted thanks to Italy, especially Sicily, which paved the way in 2022," writes Ansa and adds:
"On the initiative of the then councilor of the Sicilian region for culture, Alberto Samona, it was decided three years ago that the "Fagan Fragment", which was located in the Salinas Museum in Palermo, as part of the archaeological collection of the then British consul Robert Fagan (it nevertheless belonged to the eastern frieze of the Parthenon), should be returned to its place, in the Acropolis Museum."
The return was made possible thanks to direct dialogue with the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendonis, and the collaboration of the director of the Acropolis Museum, Nikolaos Stampolidis, with the then director of the Salinas Museum, Katerina Greco.
"Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked Italy and Sicily for the return of the fragment and a year later the Holy See, at the initiative of Pope Francis, donated three more fragments of the Parthenon, which were kept in the Vatican museums," Ansa writes.
In its announcement commenting on the latest developments, the Italian news agency uses a quote from Alberto Samona, who underlined:
“The day is approaching when the Parthenon sculptures will finally return to Athens. I can say, with some pride, that thanks to our movement, the international debate on the return home of the sculptures removed from the work of Phidias has gained new momentum. The path we must follow, in a world full of conflicts and divisions, is – precisely – international cooperation and partnership in the name of civilization, which always carries a message of dialogue and peace.”
The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are on display at the British Museum in London, United Kingdom. The marbles are a collection of ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis in Athens. They were removed from Ottoman Greece to Britain in the early 19th century by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and are now held in the British Museum. Greece would like to see the marbles returned to Greece.