A mid-to-late 5th Century BC vase presented to Alcide De Gasperi, the then prime minister of Italy by his Greek counterpart, Alexandros Papagos, during a state visit to Athens in 1953. This was a large, ornate terracotta artefact, decorated with red figures on a black background.
The ancient krater was gifted to show gratitude for De Gasperi’s “decisive contribution in ceding the Dodecanese islands to Greece" post World War II.
Paolo Catti De Gasperi, the grandson of Alcide De Gaspari handed the vase to Culture Minister Lina Mendoni during a ceremony at the Greek Embassy in Rome.
Dr Mendoni was grateful for this generous return although she is quoted as saying that as this had been a gift by Greece to Italy in the 50's, it continued to linked the modern history of both Greece and Italy.
Comments powered by CComment