Let’s do it again but better? Pros and Cons of Renewing the US-Italy Cultural Property MOU

by Tess Bonoli

Since January 19, 2001, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Italy has offered an added layer of protection to Italy’s cultural heritage. It was designed to regulate imports of pre-Classical, Classical, and Imperial Roman period cultural artifacts in the United States. The MOU is in response to a request from the Italian government, pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (the Convention). The Convention’s implementing legislation, the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA), came into effect in 1983. Article 9 of the Convention empowers any State Party whose cultural patrimony is in jeopardy to call upon other State Parties who are affected to assist with curbing the illicit traffic. These bilateral agreements last five years, and may be renewed an indefinite number of times, following a petition and a review of the bilateral commitments. On February 26, 2015, the U.S. State Department announced that Italy had requested a third renewal of the MOU; this request is currently under review – with competing interests advocating for and against another term.

“Italy is blessed with a rich cultural legacy and therefore cursed to suffer the pillaging of important cultural artifacts,” stated John R. Phillips, American ambassador to Italy. The current MOU requires that the U.S. and Italy both contribute their resources to work toward the shared goal of preserving invaluable objects of cultural and historical importance. The U.S. is responsible for restricting importation of materials on the Designated List (including categories of stone, metal, ceramic, and glass artifacts, and wall paintings); upon the recovery of such materials, returning them to Italy; and providing public notice of the items on the Designated List. In turn, the Italian government is obligated to increase scientific research; guard archaeological sites that are known to be at risk from looters; develop Italian tax incentives for private support of legitimate excavations; institute more severe penalties for looters; regulate the use of metal detectors; provide ongoing training for the Italy’s national military police, the Caribinieri, etc. In 2010, Italy also agreed to facilitate U.S. access to its art and artifacts through long-term loans, permitting scientific analysis of those materials, by encouraging American museums and universities to participate in Italian excavations, and by promoting exchange and study abroad programs. Both countries further agreed to launch joint efforts to strengthen cooperation from other Mediterranean nations, publicize the terms of the MOU, and examine more ways to facilitate the legitimate export of items sold within Italy.

Since its inception, the MOU has guided the successful recovery and return of statues, sculptures, architectural fragments, weapons and armor, vessels, coins, wall paintings, and inscriptions. In May 2015, U.S. Ambassador Phillips generalized that the joint efforts of American agents and Italian investigators had “borne fruit in returning some important artifacts to their rightful home in Italy.”