Italy’s presidential palace will host an exhibit of 40 antiquities the J. Paul Getty Museum is returning as Rome reclaims treasures it says were looted from Italian territory, officials said Wednesday.

The exhibition at the Qurinale Palace will open at the end of December and last through February, the palace said in a statement. Entrance will be free.

“As the home of all Italians, the Qurinale is the most appropriate and prestigious place so that our citizens and visitors from around the world can come and admire these masterpieces in the country where they came from,” Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said.

After more than a year of negotiations, the Los Angeles-based Getty museum agreed in August to return the 40 works Italy says were looted. The first four arrived in Rome on Tuesday.

The Getty has denied knowingly buying illegally obtained objects. Italy’s deal with the museum includes no admission of guilt.

Read full article (International Herald Tribune, October 3, 2007)

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