A painting by a 15th-century artist, Sandro Botticelli, believed to be worth £85 million has been recovered at a home in southern Italy more than 50 years ago after it got missing.
Italian authorities lost track of the Renaissance masterpiece which was originally donated by the artist to Pope Sixtus IV.
It was later housed in a church in the town of Santa Maria la Carità where a local family was entrusted to keep it at their private residence for generations.
After many thought it had been lost forever, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage traced it to a property in Gragnano, near Naples.
The paining is a depiction of Madonna and a child. Authorities who recovered it last month say the painting has deteriorated, with abrasions and chromatic alterations seen all over, and will now require major restoration.
Superintendent Mariano Nuzzo of the Carabinieri said after receiving the work: ‘It will be entrusted to the care of an Institute of the Ministry of Culture specialised in the sector of restoration of works of art in order to start a study process and valorisation of the painting.’
Botticelli’s most famous works include ‘The Birth of Venus’ and ‘Primavera’, which are displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Authorities estimate the lesser-known painting to be one of the Italian master’s last paintings.
Police are now probing the rightful ownership of the painting, which has been passed down through generations in the family.
If the family’s ownership is deemed legitimate, the masterpiece may remain with them but could be displayed in a government museum for enhanced security.
