James Imam

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Famed Egyptian archaeologist pledges to ‘join together’ with Italy to secure return of Mona Lisa

The former antiquities minister is also demanding that three Egyptian treasures, including the Rosetta Stone, be sent to his home country

New date proposed for when Florence's Baptistery of St John was built

The recent research also suggests that the famous Italian landmark was part of a broader building programme

Jewish community raises funds to rescue Siena’s earthquake-damaged 18th-century synagogue

At least ninety percent of €368,000 target to repair vault and ceiling has been met

Migrant museum on the Italian island of Lampedusa closes after seven years

The Museum of Faith and Dialogue, which could not afford the new €10,000 annual rent, displayed items found at sea following shipwrecks

Former Vatican employee arrested for allegedly trying to sell Bernini manuscript

The 18-page document had previously disappeared from the Holy See's official archive

Naplesnews

Mega museum planned for vast former hospital and almshouse in Naples

Albergo dei Poveri renovation is the latest stage of the Italian city’s cultural renaissance

Artefacts discovered down well shed light on ancient Roman rituals

The objects, found within the Ostia Antica archaeological site in southern Italy, include burnt animal bones and a carved wooden chalice

Eike Schmidt sparks Florence election controversy with offensive slur

The former director of the Uffizi, who is running for mayor of the Tuscan city, has been accused of speaking negatively about people from Italy's deprived south

Italy seizes Giuseppe Verdi's villa and plans to turn it into a museum

The 19th-century property, where the Italian composer wrote 'La Traviata', was due to be auctioned, but the sale never happened

Italy's statues have a gender bias, new research reveals

Public portrayals of female figures are not only rare, they are often sexualised stereotypes

Italy stops loans to Minneapolis amid ancient marble row

Dispute centres on the Doryphoros statue, which Italy believes was looted in the 1970s

Venice's new tourist tax launches this month—how will it work?

Day trippers will need to pay €5 to enter on select days in a pilot scheme which starts during the Biennale

JR punches a tunnel through Milan’s central railway station in latest optical illusion

The street artist’s new public art commission coincides with Milan Design Week

Lehmann Maupin to debut latest seasonal space in Milan

Pop-up space syncs with spring events, furthering city’s growth as an art hub

‘Blasphemous’ painting of Jesus slashed, artist attacked at exhibition in Italian church

A petition calling for the removal of Andrea Saltini’s painting, which appears to depict the lifeless figure of Jesus receiving oral sex, garnered more than 30,000 signatures

Robert Capa show at Mussolini’s villa sparks controversy

Questions asked about how former home of fascist ruler came to host exhibition of Jewish photojournalist

Museum president in Italy resigns following backlash over Giorgia Meloni picture

The inverted photo of the Italian prime minister has drawn comparisons to images of Benito Mussolini's execution

Basilica Ulpia part-rebuilt on original colossal scale in Rome

But financing of the project by a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch has been condemned as an "embarrassment"

Italy donates replica of Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to Iraq

The 3D-printed reproduction of the Assyrian statue was previously displayed at the Colosseum in Rome and the Unesco headquarters in Paris

Under the bonnet: €300,000 Ferrari-funded restoration completed on 13th-century Cimabue fresco

Maestà di Assisi, located in the saint's home town, which survived a deadly earthquake in 1997, has been returned to its original luminosity

Is Italy’s government meddling in who runs top museums?

Cultural figures voice concern about culture ministry’s appointments to run institutions including Florence’s Uffizi Galleries and Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera

Italy’s embattled junior culture minister resigns amid scandals

The critic, curator and commentator Vittorio Sgarbi was being pressured to resign amid multiple investigations into his conduct

Students denounce ‘voyeuristic’ depiction of rape in Gentileschi show

Exhibition in Genoa dedicated to 17th-century painter includes a multimedia installation detailing the artist’s infamous rape by artist Agostino Tasso

No confidence vote against Italian junior culture minister postponed

Vittorio Sgarbi is being investigated for allegedly laundering an Old Master painting

Italian politicians call on government to sack minister involved in art theft case

Vittorio Sgarbi has been accused of laundering a stolen 17th-century painting attributed to Rutilio Manetti

Private donations save Bologna’s Garisenda tower from collapse

City had been forced to cordon off leaning 12th-century structure

Could the arts be good for your health?

A major scientific research project led by the World Health Organisation and Jameel Arts & Health Lab aims to find out

Forgotten Botticelli painting recovered by Italian police

Last checked by the authorities in over 50 years ago, the painting had been kept in a private home since the 1980s and is in extremely poor condition

Mystery over Agnelli dynasty’s missing art

Investigation by Italy’s broadcaster about the whereabouts of art from the late industrialist’s collection has revealed apparent widespread failure to enforce country’s cultural export rules

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt hits out at mayor of Florence—fuelling rumours of his own political ambitions

Schmidt has criticised Dario Nardella for plans to deploy security guards at shopping centres in the city, after suggestions for similar protection at the museum were rejected