Francavilla Marittima Timeline
How Francavilla Marittima objects were acquired and then returned to Italy
Body Content
Timeline of the journey that objects from the Getty’s antiquities collection took in repatriation.
Late 1970s
Under then-curator Jiri Frel, the Getty receives a donation of several hundred vases and vase fragments, mostly Corinthian and Proto-Corinthian, as well as assorted other materials, including terracotta and bronzes. The overwhelming majority of the objects are “study pieces” and not suitable for display.
Fall 1993
Dutch archaeologist Marianne Kleibrink notifies then-curator Marion True that some of the terracottas may have come from Francavilla Marittima in Calabria, Italy. Francavilla Marittima was one of the most important Greek colonies in South Italy and was under excavation by, among others, Dr. Kleibrink. Dr. Kleibrink also says that similar objects at the Institute for Classical Archaeology in Bern, Switzerland, are from the same site.
January 1994
Discussions between the Getty and the Institute in Bern confirm the justification for Dr. Kleibrink’s conclusions. The Getty contacts the Italian Ministry for Cultural Properties and Activities, proposing the Ministry send experts to both Bern and Los Angeles to review the objects in question. The institutions agree that if the Italian experts support Dr. Kleibrink’s contention, the objects would be deaccessioned and sent to Italy. However, the Getty suggests that they be thoroughly documented and prepared for publication before their return.
Spring 1995
The Ministry sends Pietro Giovanni Guzzo and Silvana Luppino to study the various objects in Los Angeles and Bern. They confirm Dr. Kleibrink’s opinion. An international team is then assembled by the Getty to research and document the materials in both collections in preparation for their return to Italy.
February 1996
At a meeting convened by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Properties and Activities in Rome, the decision was made that scholars from Los Angeles, Switzerland, Holland, and Italy would prepare a thorough publication of the objects. The team includes Marion True, Dietrich Willers, Marianne Kleibrink, Silvana Luppino, and others. They determine that the bronzes and metals would be studied in Los Angeles by John Papadopoulos at the Getty, while all the other materials would be assembled and studied in Bern.
June 1996
The Getty objects, except the metal pieces, are deaccessioned and shipped to Bern. Research of the metal objects begins at the Getty.
October 2000
Extensive research and documentation of the metal pieces in Los Angeles is completed; they are deaccessioned and shipped to Bern, so the entire collection can be transferred to Italy together.
December 2000–March 2001
In celebration of the completion of this work, a small exhibition of the objects is mounted in Bern.
July 2001
The objects from Bern and Los Angeles are packed and returned to Italy.
November 2001
A more comprehensive exhibition of the objects opens at the National Archaeological Museum of Sibaritide in Calabria, the closest museum to the Francavilla Marittima site, which now houses all other finds from the site.
2003
A catalogue of the metal objects studied by Papadopoulos is published as a special volume of Bollettino d’Arte by Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali featuring a preface written by Mario Serio, General Director of the Ministry of Culture, and Giuseppe Proietti, then General Director of Archaeology, and currently Director of the Department of Research, Innovation, and Organization at the Ministry of Culture.
2003–2007
Work continues in Bern to prepare the remaining publications.
April 4, 2007
A second volume relating to part of the ceramic material from the site is published by Bollettino d’Arte. A third and final volume is planned.