Ludovico Gippetto

"If advertising is the soul of trade, this campaign constitutes a deterrent for illegal trade"

Historical heritage is the property of all citizens. The aim of the project "Wanted - presi per il verso guisto", realized by the organization Erxtroart, is to make stolen works of art known and thus recognizable to a broader public in order to be able to reinstate them to their place of origin for public benefit. Since 1990, Erxtroart has incessantly published "advertising" campaigns to diffuse knowledge of stolen works of art and their illegal trading.

Theft of cultural goods only occurs in a poor or careless society, unable to preserve what pertains to it, in ignorance that waste and dissipation of cultural goods is also waste and dissipation of national identity and thus a loss to of a part of mankind.

Hence the need arises for cooperation to protect cultural sites, churches, monuments, archaeological findings not only on land but also under water.

The necessity emerges to sensitize the public that this legacy belongs to the community and must be preserved and protected, also by law. If a case of theft or illegal trade has been verified, the work of art concerned must be returned to its original environment.

Everybody has the right to know about the works of art that have been stolen from their original collections, through photographs where they exist. One of the goals of the campaign "Wanted" is to try to stop the mechanism of selling and re-selling, even by renowned auctioneers, of purloined works of art which disguises their illicit provenance, erasing the original owner and even legitimizing future trade.

Extroart is confident to be able to help create public sensitivity, which is the only solution to this real problem.

We are convinced that ownership is never absolute. We simply look after our possessions. And pass them on.