The precious Roman mosaic stolen by the Germans during World War II returns to Pompeii.

It was a Wehrmacht captain, responsible for the military supply chain in Italy during World War II, who donated to a German citizen a Roman-era erotic mosaic panel on a travertine slab, which was stolen in 1944 from the site of ancient Pompeii. A work of great cultural interest, it was today returned by the commander of the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, General Francesco Gargaro, to the Director General of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel. The panel, dating between the mid-20th century BC and the 1st century AD and depicting a pair of lovers, was owned by a German citizen, since deceased, who had received it as a gift from the Wehrmacht captain. The heirs of the last owner subsequently contacted the Carabinieri of the TPC Unit in Rome, who are leading the investigation, requesting guidance on how to return the mosaic to the Italian State. The military personnel of the Cultural Heritage Protection Command in Rome, realizing they were dealing with a work of extraordinary cultural interest and, among other things, linked to the wartime plundering of artworks belonging to the Italian state heritage, conducted the necessary investigations to establish its authenticity and provenance, coordinated by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, and enabled the mosaic's repatriation on September 16, 2023. Significant collaboration with the Office for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage of the Pompeii Archaeological Park was crucial, allowing the artifact to be traced back to the Vesuvian area, despite limited information on its original context.