Peru on Thursday returned a collection of 73 Roman coins, some from the second and fourth centuries, to the Italian embassy in Lima, the foreign ministry said.
The coins were seized from a Peruvian woman in 2021 at the international airport in Cusco, a tourist hub and gateway to the world renown Machu Picchu Inca citadel.
Peru’s deputy foreign minister, Ignacio Higueras, told reporters that the collection of 73 coins “are part of Italian heritage.”
Higueras said the “valuable collection is made up of 42 coins from the imperial Roman era of the second and fourth centuries.”
The other coins were from the medieval, Renaissance and Byzantine periods in Italy, comprising a collection “with more than 1,000 years of history,” said Higueras.
A handful of silver coins were shown to reporters, some with the profile of a Roman citizen, others containing just letters.
Italian colonel Lanfranco D’sibio said the coins were seized from a Peruvian woman who had arrived at the Cusco airport from Italy.
“The coins have great historical and cultural value,” D’sibio said, also praising international cooperation in “the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural assets.”
“Thanks to the collaboration between Peru and Italy, these 73 coins will return home,” said Giancarlo Maria Curcio, Italy’s ambassador to Peru. — AFP
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