ROME (AP) - Italian authorities on Monday returned to Swiss
authorities 14 paintings that had been stolen in 1993 from a
cathedral in Switzerland.
The paintings, works on wood dating from the 15th and 16th centuries
and gilded on their edges, were found in Ferrara, a northern Italian
city, by the art theft division of Italy's paramilitary police.
The works were in good condition except for two paintings that had
been cut, apparently to sell them in parts. They had been stolen from
Coira, Switzerland.
An Italian has been arrested in the theft, police said. They refused
to give more details because the case is still under investigation.
LETTERS and documents that once belonged to Sigmund Freud have been
lost in a removal fire van.
Ernest Freud, 84, a grandson of the psycho-analyst, had built up a
large collection of family memorabilia. An international removal
company was transferring it to Germany from his home in Burnley,
Lancs, when a diesel pipe burst and caused the fire. Around half the
collection is thought to have been burned. The rest was badly damaged
by water from fire hoses.
Ernest Freud, formerly Ernest Halberstadt, who was on his way to his
new home in Bergheim last night, confirmed that he was negotiating a
financial settlement with the insurers of Stubbs International Movers.
However, Keith Davies, librarian of the Freud Museum in London, said
the lost items would not have been of international importance. "The
major collection of Freud's work, including his manuscripts and
letters, are in the Library of Congress in Washington," he said.
A spokesman for Stubbs confirmed that one of its vehicles had caught
fire while parked overnight at Peel, near Blackpool, Lancs.
In a report released Monday, July 27, the Asheville/Buncombe Arson
Task Force team determined that the fire at the boardinghouse at the
Thomas Wolfe Memorial was the result of arson. The state of North
Carolina is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of the guilty party or parties.
For further information, please visit the website at:
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/wolfe/wolfe.htm
You can link to the information concerning the fire from here.
Martha Battle Jackson, Registrar (919) 733-7862
NC Historic Sites Fax: (919) 733-9515
109 East Jones Street mjackson@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us
Raleigh, NC 27601-2807
