Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has added his support to Greece’s campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, publicly endorsing the longstanding Greek claim during a visit to Thessaloniki and signaling support for renewed efforts to resolve the claim with the British Museum.
Giuli and Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni made the remarks at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki during a ceremony marking the repatriation of 145 bronze coins from Italy. The two sides later signed an extension of a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation in the recovery and return of illegally trafficked antiquities.
A young woman views the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of sculptures originating from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, which are on display at the British Museum in London, United Kingdom.
The event also served as a review of cooperation between the two sides against antiquities trafficking, an initiative that extends beyond the repatriation of artifacts to include the identification, documentation and restoration of archaeological fragments removed from their original historical and cultural contexts.
Mendoni noted that the current framework of cooperation was established in June 2025 with the signing of a bilateral agreement in Athens. The program focuses largely on the study, conservation and restoration of approximately 70,000 pottery fragments discovered in the possession of a company linked to convicted antiquities dealer Robin Symes.
The Symes case is regarded as one of the largest international antiquities-trafficking investigations of recent decades. Greek authorities began examining the affair in 2006 following revelations linked to a warehouse on the Cycladic island of Schinoussa. Years of legal proceedings and diplomatic efforts subsequently led to the return of hundreds of important antiquities to Greece.
Athens has intensified its international campaign for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in recent years, arguing that the sculptures are an integral part of the Parthenon monument and should be displayed alongside the remaining sections in Athens. The issue has gained renewed diplomatic attention amid ongoing contacts between Greek officials and the British Museum regarding a potential framework for cooperation.
The Greek government has also sought to strengthen international partnerships aimed at combating the illicit trade in cultural property, with Italy regarded as one of Greece’s closest allies in efforts to identify, recover and repatriate looted antiquities. Recent cooperation between the two countries has focused on tracing artifacts removed through trafficking networks and restoring fragmented archaeological material to its country of origin.
