Greece and Italy have agreed to deepen their cooperation on the protection of cultural heritage by establishing a joint working group of Greek and Italian scholars. The group will focus on the systematic documentation, identification and conservation of significant ceramic collections-mainly from Attic workshops-that originate from illegal excavations in both countries, amna.gr, has reported.
According to an announcement on Monday by the Greek culture ministry, the initiative to establish the Greek-Italian working group is the result of bilateral contacts between Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and her Italian counterpart Alessandro Giuli, in June 2025 in Athens.
A key step in the process was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint management of antiquities previously held by the liquidators of Robin Symes Ltd. The agreement was signed by Olympia Vikatou, Director General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in Greece, and Luigi La Rocca, head of the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Heritage Protection Department.
Practical work began in September 2025 at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and has continued steadily since. Both sides report strong cooperation and mutual trust, with early results already demonstrating the effectiveness of the partnership and further strengthening cultural ties between the two countries.
The project aims to restore fragmented vessels and ultimately return an equal number of fully conserved artifacts to each country under joint scientific supervision.
Source: amna.gr
