Protection of cultural property debated in Montreal

(AGI) Rome, May 19 - Cultural, historic and archeological property protection and the fight against trafficking art works are the themes of a lecture, due to be held in Montreal, on May 25 in the Maxwell-Cumming Auditorium, by Major Luigi Mancuso, Commander of the Carabinieri's section for the protection of the cultural property of Palermo. The address took place on the occasion of the exhibition "Pompei, a Roman city", showcased in the Museum of Fine Arts of Montreal, and organised by the Italian Institute of Culture. Among other speakers there will be Marc Balcells, professor of criminology at the Pompeo Fabra University of Barcelona, with a presentation on "Looting Italy: a Criminological Analysis of rhe Supply Side", followed by "Documenting the Nature and Extent of Japanese Cultural Plunder in World War II" by Ricardo J. Elia, associate professor of archeology at Boston University, and a presentation on "ISIS and Antiquities Trafficking: Al-Qaeda 2.0" by Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, of the Marines and deputy prosecutor of Manhattan. The event is part of the extensive programme of conferences promoted by the institute to unveil the excellence of Italian knowledge of Roman civilization, on the historic and archaeological property and Latin documentary heritage, the recent great restoration projects for the rehabilitation of the area of Pompei. Pompei, in fact, reveals day after day the beauty of a living archeological site, where the Italian art of preserving and restoring antiquities is at the top of the world ranking. For the first time Montreal is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Pompei and Ercolano, cities founded in the 6th century BC during the Roman Empire, and destroyed during the spectacular eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. (AGI).
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