Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli publicly called on Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece on Tuesda...

Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli publicly called on Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece on Tuesday, using a joint ceremony in Thessaloniki as his platform. Standing alongside Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, Giuli said he had recently reread Christopher Hitchens' book arguing for the Marbles' return, and called on "our British friends" to treat the Greek-Italian cultural cooperation as a model to follow. The ceremony at the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum marked the repatriation of 145 bronze coins from Italy to Greece, and the two ministers also signed an extension of their bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on protecting archaeological heritage. The MOU, first signed in Athens in June 2025, covers the joint management, documentation, and restoration of artifacts, with a particular focus on roughly 70,000 pottery fragments that passed through the hands of British antiquities dealer Robin Symes. Mendoni described the Symes case as one of the largest international antiquities trafficking scandals in decades. Greek investigations began in 2006 following a raid on the island of Schinoussa, and after 17 years of coordinated work, resulted in the return of 351 objects to Greece in May 2023, ranging from Neolithic to early Byzantine in date. The scale of the looting only became clear when researchers opened the seized crates in July 2023. Inside five large boxes were roughly 300 smaller containers packed with pottery fragments, some stored in hotel soap boxes, and one batch of sherds had been sent as a Christmas gift with a card attached. The new Secretary General of Culture, Olympia Vikatos, called it a shocking sight, noting the complete absence of excavation records. So far five joint working sessions have taken place in Thessaloniki, with more than 70 vessels already reconstructed from the fragments. The MOU has now been extended to March 2027 to complete identification, conservation, and attribution of the material. #ParthenonMarbles #Greece #Italy