Missing Masterpiece Returned By Family That Took It To ‘Protect’ It

Generally speaking, if someone absconds with a priceless work of art, it is part of a scheme to sell it on the black market or profit by the theft in some other nefarious way. But according to members of the Somma family in Italy, the reason a relative took Botticelli’s “Madonna and Child” from a chapel decades ago was to keep it from being stolen by someone else.

A history of ownership

Not only is this 15th century painting iconic due to its subject matter and artist, but it’s also notable for the high-profile hands it went through over the centuries since it was completed.

• One of its earliest reported owners was Pope Sixtus IV, who led the Catholic Church from 1471 until he died 13 years later.
• The highly influential Medici political dynasty then acquired the painting with the proceeds being used to build the Sistine Chapel.
• From there, the masterpiece found its home in the village chapel in Southern Italy’s Santa Maria La Carita.

During the mid-20th century, with thefts from Catholic parishes on the rise, Enrico Somma made the fateful decision to take the painting from the chapel.

From Vatican to bakery

While the painting’s most recent hiding place hasn’t been confirmed, the prevailing rumor is that it had been tucked away beneath a bakery near Naples that is owned by Michele Somma.

The family insists that they had just been “acting as custodians” of the painting and refused the offers they received over the years to sell it.

Speculation has been building for years that the Sommas were in possession of the Botticelli, and they worked with authorities to arrange its return. Now, the painting — valued at well over $100 million — is ready to undergo some significant restorations.

Chris Agee December 18th, 2023

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