Man always showed off dad’s marble ‘Parthenon souvenir’ — until a radio announcement compelled him to do the right thing
Some pieces of pretty-looking artwork might mean more to a country than just its aesthetic value. However, a man who had inherited a piece of the "Parthenon" from his father had no idea that it meant so much to Ancient Greek history. The man, Enrico Tosti-Croce's, dad had taken the piece of marble during his visit to the Parthenon in the 1930s. He proudly showed off the souvenir to all his guests, just like his dad did earlier. But then he heard that Greece was looking to get marble sculptures back from the British Museum and decided to turn the piece in, per The Art Newspaper.
Enrico and his family had been living in Chile since 1950, from the time he was a little boy. He moved to the country with his mother and sister from Genoa a year after his dad, Gaetano Tosti-Croce, moved there. Gaetano had fought in World War II and returned to Italy at the end of the war. He had retired from the Navy and moved to Chile a few years later. However, in the 1930s, Gaetano had taken an important ancient Greek relic with him during his visit to the Parthenon. It was a marble piece that weighed around 1.2 kg and had floral designs carved on it. It looked like a piece that had broken from a larger piece of artwork or building.
Gaetano would proudly show off the marble piece to everyone who visited their house as a souvenir from his trip to Greece. When his parents died in 1994, Enrico inherited the marble piece from them and continued to decorate it in every house, just like his dad. He would also show off the piece and tell his guests about its origins. "When someone came to my house for the first time, I would show them that stone and say: 'This is from the Parthenon.' Some believed me, others didn't." But one fine day, he was driving when he heard the news on the radio. The man came to know that the Greek government was asking the British Museum to return the country's marble sculptures.
The fight to bring the pieces back to their rightful place started back in 1983 after they were taken to London in the 19th century, per the outlet. "When I heard the news, I said: 'Wow, I have a little piece of the Parthenon.'" After he learned about the government's appeal, he felt that it was his responsibility to return the marble piece to its country of origin. "It's my responsibility to return it." Enrico immediately got to work and sent an email to the Greek embassy in Santiago about the marble piece. He sent pictures and other details as well, according to the embassy's request.
After that, Enrico personally went to Santiago to deliver the relic to the Greek embassy. He also explained to the officials that he would like to know about any history or details related to the marble piece he had possessed for such a long time. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture wrote to him some time later and explained that the piece was actually from an even older temple than the Parthenon, probably the Hekatompedon. "It turned out the piece wasn't from the Parthenon, but from an even older temple." The ministry thanked Enrico for what he decided to do and honored him. The man was also glad that he made the decision to return the piece.
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