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 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit Scott 1717 (2019) On April 29, 2019, Vatican City, Italy and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta jointly issued souvenir sheets honoring the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit. The sheets were essentially identical, with slight variations to distinguish the issuing authority. Why are we looking at this today? Last Friday, the Carabinieri announced the recovery of three masterpieces that had been taken during a brazen theft from the museum at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, located in Mamiano di Traversetolo near Parma. On the night of March 22-23, 2026, thieves forced their way into the museum, grabbed the artwork in under three minutes, and fled through the museum gardens. The paintings taken were by Paul Cézanne (“Still Life with Cherries”, valued at roughly $7 million), Auguste Renoir (“Poissons” (“Fish”), valued at roughly $3.5 million) and Henri Matisse (“Odalisque on the Terrace”, valued at roughly $23,000). The Carabinieri art-recovery unit uncovered the paintings in an apartment in Parma, and nine individuals, identified as Moldovan nationals, have been placed under formal investigation by prosecutors.  "Still Life with Cherries" by Paul Cézanne (circa 1890) From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain The souvenir sheet, and last week’s successful recovery of the stolen paintings from Parma, bring attention to the work of the Carabinieri unit, whose mandate is the security of Italy’s cultural heritage, through protection, recovery of cultural assets, and support of scientific and educational materials related to them. The souvenir sheet depicts some of the many stolen art works recovered, thanks to the intervention of the Unit. The €5.40 stamp shows Mantegna's “Holy Family”, and the five letter seals present Raphael’s “La Mute" (“The Mute Woman”), a precious illuminated manuscript, Van Gogh's "The Gardener," a Roman ivory mask, and the façade of Palazzo Sant'Ignazio, headquarters of the command, are featured on the five letter seals. The selvage of the sheet shows a still-missing work, Caravaggio's "The Nativity", which was discussed in a recent Daily Email for the birth of Caravaggio. REFERENCES: |
