Former culture undersecretary and art
critic Vittorio Sgarbi is facing a possible trial over a
painting that was allegedly stolen and then allegedly altered to
try to disguise its provenance.
Prosecutors in Marche capital Macerata have wound up their probe
into the pianting, stolen from a northern Italian castle in 2013
and later allegedly found among Sgarbi's possession with the
addition of a torch to allegedly make it look like it was not
the stolen work, il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper reported Friday.
It said Sgarbi, 72, a famously volatile polemicist as well as
one of Italy's top art critics and art historians, risked 4-12
years in jail in the case.
According to il Fatto, a notorious forger, Pasquale Frongia, has
admitted to prosecutors that he added the torch to the painting
at Sgarbi's bidding.
Sgrabi, who quit his ministerial post in February after Italy's
antitrust authority said that his private conferences and other
lucrative activities were
incompatible with his role as culture undersecretary, said
Friday that "I have full trust in the judges and I will prove my
innocence".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
