Officials with the Manhattan District Attorney's office formally turned over almost $14 million worth of seized artwork and historical artifacts back to Italian authorities on Wednesday as part of a yearlong effort to repatriate such goods that have been circulating on the black market.
The 142 pieces were seized by authorities from art galleries and private collectors over a period of five years, and will now be shipped back to their homeland. Italian officials say they plan to display some of the items at a museum in Rome dedicated to art that has been taken off the black market from outside Italy.
