The Italian news agency Ansa, in a telegram, reported intensifying contacts aimed at the return to Athens of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum.

“The whole international debate on the return of the marbles to Greece has restarted thanks to Italy, especially Sicily, which, in 2022, paved the way,” writes Ansa, adding: “On the initiative of the then Sicilian regional councillor for culture, Alberto Samona, three years ago it was decided that the “Fagan fragment”, which was in Palermo’s Salinas museum, as part of the archaeological collection of the then British Consul Robert Fagan (but belonging to the eastern frieze of the Parthenon), should be returned to its place in the Acropolis Museum.

The return was made possible thanks to a direct dialogue with the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, and the cooperation of the director of the Acropolis Museum, Nikolaos Stambolidis, with the then director of the Salinas Museum, Katerina Greko. “Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked Italy and Sicily for the return of the fragment and a year later, the Holy See, on the initiative of Pope Francis, donated another three Parthenon fragments, which were kept in the Vatican Museums,” Ansa writes.

In a post commenting on the latest developments, reproduced by the Italian news agency, Alberto Samona stressed: “The day is approaching when the Parthenon sculptures will finally return to Athens. I can say, with a certain pride, that thanks to our movement, the international debate on the return of the sculptures removed from the work of Phidias has gained new momentum. The path to follow in a world full of conflict and division is – precisely – international cooperation and partnership in the name of culture, which has always carried a message of dialogue and peace.”