Italy has announced it is returning a piece of the Parthenon frieze to Greece in a move of international significance that may stoke the continued debate in the UK over the repatriation of the marbles. The fragment in question is part of a figure covered in fine drapery from the eastern side of the frieze. It is currently housed in the Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily and will return to Greece on a four-year loan.

Italy’s fragment of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon marbles features the foot of a goddess, thought to be either Peitho or Artemis. It was bought by the University of Palermo from the widow of Robert Fagan, who was the British consul for Sicily and Malta, in the early 19th century. The marble artifact will initially be returned to Greece on a four-year loan, although this is intended to be extended for a further four years and eventually even become permanent. The restitution comes as part of a cultural exchange agreement between Sicily and Greece.

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Sicily will receive artifacts from Greece in return for the Parthenon fragment. The Acropolis Museum in Athens will send a 5th century BC statue of the goddess Athena and an 8th century BC amphora to the archeological museum in Palermo.

Sicily’s councilor for culture Alberto Samonà has emphasized the importance of the scheme. “Sending back to the context of its origins a small but significant fragment belonging to the Parthenon has a very strong symbolic value,” he said.

Read more: Forbes