Antique Trader StaffPublished Jan 16, 2024 10:45 PM PSTShare this storyA 15th-century masterpiece by Sandro Botticelli worth more than $100 million and seemingly misplaced for more than 50 years after disappearing from the Italian state’s art records has been recovered from a family home near Naples The painting was initially displayed in a church in Santa Maria la Carità When an earthquake damaged the church in 1982 the painting was given to a local family for safekeeping The family displayed the painting their home for years it vanished from the Italian state’s art records and local authorities continued to monitor the painting Even though the artwork had been in the family’s possession the entire time it was eventually included on the list of lost works maintained by the Italian Ministry of Culture The painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus on her lap The painting is believed to be one of the last Botticelli (1445-1510) produced The estimated value of the painting is €100 million—$108,640,000 U.S is among Botticelli’s most treasured pieces because it features a Madonna that was influenced by Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci The work is referenced in English author Ronald W. Lightbown’s biography of Botticelli. The painter gave the piece to Pope Sixtus IV who subsequently gave it to the small country church in the Santa Maria la Carità municipality of Naples hoping to curry favor with the Medici family Experts determined that the artwork was severely damaged with several abrasions and chromatic changes brought on by varnish oxidation It will now be subjected to a lengthy restoration process with the goal of allowing the public to view it at last There will be no criminal investigation because an official decree indicates that the family was asked to safeguard the painting Painting Found Behind Door Really a Masterpiece Worth $845,000 $1 Purchase is Really Cartier Purse Worth Nearly $10,000! Rare Chair Bought for $50 Could be Worth $50,000 © 2025 Active Interest Media All rights reserved Italian authorities had lost sight of a €100 million Botticelli masterpiece – a Madonna and Child The painting has now been (re)discovered in a private residence near Naples The recently recovered artwork depicting the Madonna and Child is in a significantly deteriorated condition. As read in the note published by The Guardian a representative of the carabinieri (police) command for the protection of cultural heritage of Naples said that “the last time the authorities had inspected the private residence where the Botticelli painting was kept [was] over 50 years ago the painting had been forgotten by the authorities after research on these works to be inspected we realized that a painting by Botticelli had been located in a private home for over 50 years The Italian Ministry of Culture will oversee a careful restoration process expected to span a year The image displays multiple scratches and color changes resulting from the oxidation of varnishes Thorough restoration efforts aim at making it suitable for public viewing was voluntarily surrendered to the Naples branch of the carabinieri responsible for safeguarding Italy’s cultural heritage Sandro Botticelli renowned for masterpieces like La Primavera and Birth of Venus is believed to have painted this Madonna in the late 15th century Originally housed in a church in Santa Maria la Carità near Naples the painting was later entrusted to a family in Gragnano Although the canvas was documented by the Italian state in 1931 and reconfirmed in 1968 it subsequently vanished from official records and deteriorated over time Authorities are now exploring whether the painting rightfully belongs to the family Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news There was also the Botticelli Madonna and Child, worth an estimated €100 million, hidden in his basement. The masterpiece had been missing for decades when, to the astonishment of the art world, Michele Somma and his younger brother, Fabrizio, turned it in to Italian police late last month. “I feel a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” said Michele, 55, the last in a line of Sommas to look after the painting. “We will miss it,” said Fabrizio, 53, nominated by the family to speak for the first time about the affair. “The Madonna A Madonna and Child attributed to Sandro Botticelli has been handed over to the state: it is a panel painting that was originally in the chapel of Santa Maria delle Grazie in the town of Santa Maria la Carità (Naples) then later moved to Gragnano and entrusted to the local Somma family The work was voluntarily handed over in the past few hours to the Carabinieri of the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale of Naples who entrusted the work to the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Naples for the necessary investigations.The work had been attributed to Botticelli during the last appraisal in the 1960s but it is so badly reduced that at least at the moment it is difficult to understand whether it is really an autograph work by the great Renaissance painter or at any rate whether it is all by his hand or made with the help of his workshop The task of the Superintendency will be precisely to the Superintendency will have to determine whether the transfer from the chapel to the Somma family took place in a regular manner which has been bound since 1931 (the notification was later confirmed in 1941 and then in 1968) is in a very precarious state of preservation: there are evident detachments of the pictorial film It will be up to the Central Institute for Restoration to try to save what can be saved and once the work is finished it will be exhibited (it is not yet known where The attribution to Botticelli is due to Raffaello Causa superintendent of the Campania Galleries in the 1960s believing it to be a work from around 1470 it could be a painting commissioned by the court of Naples it is a work well known to the scholarly literature: it appears in the complete catalog of Botticelli’s work published by Nicoletta Pons in 1989 British art historian Ronald Lightbown believed it was donated to the Oratory of Gragnano by Pope Sixtus IV: if so it would be a painting executed by Botticelli during his stay in Rome in the ninth decade of the fifteenth century (1481-1482) The composition is derived from that of the Raczinsky tondo in Berlin in her 2001 book Botticelli: allegorie mitologiche (Botticelli: Mythological Allegories ) also speaks of a work of likely Roman provenance Also taking part in the work’s recovery operations were the Soprintendenza’s art historian official for an initial assessment of the work’s conservation status for the delicate mediation phase with the private owners of the property Superintendent Mariano Nuzzo collected the painting held by the Somma family and confirmed that “the work will be entrusted to the care of an Institute of the Ministry of Culture specialized in the restoration of works of art in order to start a process of diagnostic analysis study and enhancement of the painting.” Restoration planned for renaissance master’s work that was last checked on half a century ago A painting by Sandro Botticelli said to have been forgotten for more than 50 years after disappearing from the Italian state’s art records has been recovered from a family home near Naples. The artwork, which dates to the 15th century and is believed to be worth about €100m, was initially housed in a church in the town of Santa Maria la Carità, before being entrusted to a local family who kept it at a private residence for generations. For reasons that remain unclear, the painting, one of the last by the Italian renaissance master – who is best known for The Birth of Venus and Primavera – then fell off the state’s radar, to the point that many thought it had been lost altogether. The painting was found to be in a poor condition, with numerous abrasions and chromatic alterations caused by oxidation of varnishes. The canvas will now undergo extensive restoration work in the hope that it can finally be seen by the public. The carabinieri are now investigating whether the painting truly belongs to the family who have been keeping it for more than a century. “The artwork had been passed down from generation to generation among members of this family,” Croce said. “But we are evaluating whether they acquired it properly … If we were to verify that the family who owned it was not entitled to keep it then it will pass into the hands of the state. Otherwise, it could remain the property of the family but exhibited in a museum to ensure greater security.” despite a listing in the Italian state’s works of public interest can be owned by an individual as long as that person is able to guarantee its security the command for the protection of cultural heritage does inspections to verify that the care of such paintings and statues is sufficient said the recovered painting was one of Botticelli’s most beloved works because the Madonna it depicts was inspired by Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci mentioned in a book about Botticelli’s life by the English author Ronald W Lightbown was donated by the artist to Pope Sixtus IV who then handed it over to a small rural church –Santa Maria delle Grazie in the municipality of Santa Maria la Carità in Naples gave it to a church to curry favour with the Medici family who had acquired properties in the Neapolitan countryside to develop vineyards “The pope donated it to a small countryside church as a tribute to obtain economic support from the powerful Medici family to finance the completion of the Sistine Chapel during a period when the pope was struggling financially,” Di Massa told La Repubblica “Many of us fought for this painting to be returned to the community when its traces were lost They said it had ended up in a safety deposit box Now we hope it can find its rightful place in a museum.” In 2021, a small Botticelli painting entitled Young Man Holding A Roundel, from about 1475, depicting a nobleman holding a round painting of a saint was sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $92.2m, an auction record for the Renaissance master This article was amended on 30 November 2023 An earlier version said Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci was Botticelli’s lover This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page In the 1960s, Enrico Somma took the 15th-century Renaissance masterpiece from a village chapel in southern Italy He cited concerns about the lack of security which was common in Italian churches at the time said Pope Sixtus IV once owned the painting before selling it to the Medici family in Florence to build the Vatican's Sistine Chapel It eventually found its way to the Santa Maria la Carità church before the Sommas furtively acquired it The Somma family insists they were "acting as custodians" and never wanted to profit from the painting Michele Somma is reticent about the Botticelli's last hiding place the Somma family last hid it in the basement of a successful bakery business Michele owns in a village outside Naples Though the removal's legality remains unclear scholars and art authorities acknowledged the painting's relocation in the late 1960s with art historians suggesting the model was Simonetta Vespucci known for inspiring Botticelli's female figures The family rebuffed numerous offers to buy the masterpiece hiding it after Enrico's death to discourage interest and potential theft As rumors circulated and social media gained traction the family grew worried and decided to confess and return the artwork The Sommas had kept the painting in a village outside Naples The region is home to the criminal gangs of the Camorra which also put the family and painting at risk The painting was shrouded in secrecy and rife with rumors outside the household and within the family The Sommas kept the younger generations of their family in the dark about the artwork The family never told the youngest Sommas about the painting nor showed it to them served as an intermediary between the Sommas and the authorities The Botticelli was handed over to the carabinieri's cultural-heritage-protection unit in a covert ceremony last month is now at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence for authentication and restoration The Sommas will miss the artwork that was under their care for generations "The Madonna was like another mother to us and the child a baby that we cherished," they said Despite the painting's sentimental value to the Somma family they hope it will eventually return to the community "That painting has been the soul of our family but now we want it back in the community," Fabrizio Somma said Opening Archaeological Museum of Castellammare di Stabia Libero D’OrsiOn the 24th of September 2020 in the historical setting of the Reggia di Quisisiana the inauguration will take place of the Archaeological Museum of Castellammare di Stabia (Museo Archeologico di Castellammare di Stabia) a new museum specifically for exhibiting the many important items found in the region of Stabia curated and sponsored by the Parco Archeologico di Pompei (the Archaeological Park of Pompei) in coordination with Electa is restoring the oldest sites of the Bourbon kings – a symbolic building boasting a history of over seven centuries – to the heritage of Italy together with precious evidence of daily life particularly how people lived both in the Roman holiday villas (luxury residences intended for the relaxation of body and mind from their activities and business affairs) and in the country villas (similar in concept to modern farms) sited with panoramic views over the Bay of Naples The Museum will be named after Libero d’Orsi (1888-1977) initiated the rediscovery of the Villas of Stabia which had previously been explored in the period of the Bourbons There is a large number of finds on display some already kept in the Antiquarium of Stabia displayed in the city centre by Libero d’Orsi but closed to the public from 1997 The tour through the exhibits of the museum a scientific project curated by the Parco Archeologico di Pompei (the Archaeological Park of Pompei) is intended to provide an overall picture of Stabia and of the Ager Stabianus from the earliest times until the volcanic eruption in 79 CE The first rooms are dedicated to the history of the Reggia di Quisisana and its archaeological explorations with special attention to the excavations by the Bourbons and by Libero d’Orsi illustrated by votive material from the sanctuary in the village of Privati (mid-4th – end of the 2nd cent and by the grave goods from the ancient necropolis in Via Madonna delle Grazie (from the second half of the 7th cent has been reconstructed chronologically and topographically In the region of present-day Castellammare di Stabia (Stabiae) in the Roman period there were several holiday villas with panoramic views porticoes and lavishly decorated nymphaea or grottoes The visitor’s journey through this historical period starts with the famous villas built on the plateau of Varanium Their extraordinary decorations are shown (especially sculptures and frescoes): from Villa San Marco to Villa del Pastore The decision to begin with Vila San Marco – covering an area of 11,000 square metres and so one of the largest residential villa in Stabia is also because it was next to the ancient town centre and in fact it serves to illustrate Pliny’s description of the destruction of Stabia by Silla in 89 BCE After the section devoted to the plateaus of Varano there are the villa del Petraro (commune of Santa Maria la Carità) an important complex from which have come stuccoes that adorned luxurious thermal baths and the villa of Carmiano (commune of Gragnano) the heart of the permanent exhibition The villa of Carmiano is one of 50 country villas in the ager Stabianus a region with a number of small properties (country villas covering between 400 and 800 square metres) adapted for the cultivation of vines and olive trees introduces the visitor to the exhibit of the dibbing- room (triclinium) of Carmiano: food which provide a snapshot of an important moment in daily life The frescoed walls of a triclinium (dining-room) are re-erected midway along the visitor’s route On these walls are Dionysian scenes that refer to the production of wine one of the main activities in the agricultural section of the villa The extraordinary cart made of bronze from Villa Arianna exhibited for the first time with its harness is a starting-point for knowing more about the agricultural work and typical products of the region of Stabia: the many examples of tools retrieved from the villas – as well as amphorae and household shrines (lararia) from the countryside – closes the visitor’s route with the theme of making produce that gave the villas in Stabia and around Vesuvius generally With the inauguration of the Museo Archeologico di Castellamare di Stabia (the Archaeological Museum of Castellamare of Stabia) both citizens and tourists now have a new space for exhibitions of vital importance for knowing and appreciating the archaeological heritage of Campania    It is a museum that will combine the cultural contribution and the archaeological circuit of ancient Stabia with the sets of sites that can be visited in Villa San Marco and Villa Arianna an expansion of the exhibition route is being planned It will include the possibility of visiting – after several decades – the decoration of the ramp connecting the lower peristyle of the Villa San Marco with its upper peristyle which will be reconstructed for public viewing The frescoes need to be restored and reconstructed – a project that will be carried out by Art Bonus with the hope of support from private individuals who could benefit from tax relief   as provided by the law and take pleasure in having helped to place these significant finds in a museum https://artbonus.gov.it/2267-parco-archeologico-di-pompei.html For information: pompei.fundraising@beniculturali.it Press Release (click here) Just a stone's throw from Place de la Concorde, the Rosy & Maria café and restaurant is the hidden nugget that blends harmoniously into the sumptuous surroundings of the Carita beauty salon nestled on the second floor of the beauty salon and a cuisine orchestrated by Amandine Chaignot it's a beautiful yet little-known address that deserves a detour With its roots in an iconic 125 m² private mansion like a walkway crossed by a large reflective mirror illustrated by a selection of heritage and contemporary objects On site, the creative cuisine perfectly matches Carita's values. For Amandine Chaignot, who already has two Parisian addresses to her credit(Pouliche and Café de Luce) this new culinary challenge is an exciting adventure Rosy & Maria's emphasis is on well-sourced What better way to start the day than with a tasting of freshly baked Viennese pastries a rich and decadent pain au chocolat and a golden raisin loaf is a true celebration of French culinary savoir-faire The Salade de Fruits de Saison et Aloé Vera is a delicious blend of carefully-cut seasonal fruits enhanced by the unique sweetness of aloe vera yet refreshing and invigorating alliance that exudes summer where a Sélection de Trois Canapés is an assortment of selected bites of the day while the Velouté de Petits Pois brings a touch of freshness with its creamy yogurt and white onion pickles that add crunch and a welcome acidity The Spring Vegetable Stracciatella is a wonderful discovery a harmonious blend of creamy stracciatella The main courses are as beautiful to look at as they are good to eat poached organic egg and fresh herbs and sunflower seeds with pieces of French-origin turkey prepared in satay and accompanied by spring vegetables and fresh herbs the desserts are not to be outdone by those with a sweet tooth We fall for the Vacherin Framboise with its lively raspberry sorbet light crème montée and red fruit coulis that adds a sweet acidity.Earl Grey Opera is also an excellent option for those who love the subtle blend of chocolate and Earl Grey tea the café is also open to you for a late lunch or a gourmet dessert accompanied by a hot or cold drink savour and discover new flavours in complete simplicity Whether you come here to relax before or after a treatment or simply to enjoy a setting away from the hustle and bustle of Paris Refer your establishment, click herePromote your event, click here The TimesA painting by the Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli has been rediscovered by Italy’s art police in a private home after the authorities lost track of its whereabouts half a century ago The painting of a Madonna and Child was recovered from a family living in Gragnano in southern Italy who had acted as custodians of the work after its removal from a church near Naples when it was damaged by an earthquake in 1982 it is estimated to be worth about €100 million over-painting and the oxidation of protective varnishes best known for his paintings of Venus and Primavera (Spring) is believed to have created the work in the late Regala o regalati un abbonamento a Barche a Motore cartaceo + digitale e a soli 39 euro l’anno hai la rivista a casa e in più la leggi su PC Il tuo indirizzo email non sarà pubblicato Iscriviti ora alla nostra newsletter gratuita e ricevere ogni settimana le migliori news selezionate dalla redazione accetta la Privacy Policy e clicca sul bottone “iscrivimi” l’eccellenza della nautica italiana incontra le prestazioni estreme nell’Azimut Atlantic Challenger imbarcazione di 27 metri capace di coniugare eleganza uno dei cantieri navali più prestigiosi d’Italia Ci sono novità importanti per chi naviga in Adriatico: la Croazia ha introdotto dal 29 marzo 2025 nuove regole per la sicurezza in mare Con oltre 1.200 isole e una lunga tradizione nautica Con largo anticipo iniziano le presentazioni delle barche animeranno i saloni autunnali Al Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show Four Winns esporrà per il suo lancio mondiale il suo nuovo H33 novità del cantiere lombardo Marlin Boat vista in anteprima all’ultimo Salone Nautico di Genova e già la sensazione che ci comunica è quella di un gommone solido e Copyright © 2025 Barche a Motore | Mediterranean Boat Magazine Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. 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