Ten Years Ago and On: Looted Antiquities Stashed in Geneva Freeport Returned to Italy
June 26, 2026
(Image: Carabinieri Patrimonio Culturale via NYTimes)
Ten years ago, in March of 2016, hundreds of looted artifacts handled by Robin Symes, disgraced London dealer with ties to Italian tomb raiders, were returned to Italy. The processing of the stash took two years.
The stash was discovered in 2014 in the Geneva Freeport, a large tax-free art warehouse, wrapped in decades-old Italian and British newspapers. Dating from the seventh century B.C. to the second century A.D., the artifacts included Roman and Etruscan sarcophagi, terracotta fragments, and Apulian vases, broken into pieces so that they could be carried discreetly out of Italy.
The artifacts were returned to museums in the Italian regions where they were looted. Read more here. Reportedly Symes was never charged for his role in trafficking the artifacts and more artifacts were returned right before Symes died in 2023. Read more here.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to provide legal advice. Readers should not construe or rely on any comment or statement in this article as legal advice. For legal advice, readers should seek a consultation with an attorney.
