Vittorio Sgarbi’s homes were searched: here’s what we know

Vittorio Sgarbi has trouble ahead. On January 12, the houses of the Undersecretariat of Culture were searched by the Prosecutor’s Office of Koşuta within the scope of the investigation of laundering of cultural assets regarding the painting “The Capture of St. Peter” by the 17th century painter Rutilio Manetti. The army searched three homes of the art critic, who denied all accusations and handed over the painting on his own. Therefore, it was Sgarbi who handed the painting over to researchers, who will evaluate it over the next few days. The seizure of the canvas is actually an action that should be taken after a lawsuit is filed against Sgarbi, who is under investigation for laundering cultural assets. The painting was expected to be stolen from the castle of Buriasco in Piedmont in 2013, but would reappear at an exhibition in Lucca in 2021 in a version described as “unpublished” by Sgarbi. In fact, there is something odd: The painting in Sgarbi’s hand contains a fountain drawn by an unidentified forger on canvas that is considered original by investigators, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Telematics, informatics and documentary devices belonging to the ongoing investigation were also seized during the operations, which also spread to the Roman and Marche residences of the art critic, in which the parties cooperated. According to what we read in the Carabinieri TPC note, the work will be the proceeds of the theft that occurred in the castle of Buriasco against the owner Margherita Buzio, which was reported to the Carabinieri of Vigone (To) on 02.14.2013. in collaboration with unknown persons in the state. The searches subsequently led to the seizure of the painting for scientific verification; This painting was found by the authorities in the possession of the “Cavallini-Sgarbi” Foundation, together with a 3D copy, in the warehouses of Ro Ferrarese in the state of Ferrara. It was made in a laboratory in Correggio.