Seized antiquities given back to Italy

Officials with the Manhattan District Attorney's office formally turned over almost $14 million worth of seized artwork and historical artifacts back to Italian authorities on Wednesday as part of years long effort to repatriate such goods that have been circulating on the black market.

The 142 pieces were seized by authorities from art galleries and private collectors over a period of five years, and will now be shipped back to their homeland. Italian officials say they plan to display some of the items at a museum in Rome dedicated to art that has been taken off the black market from outside Italy. One of the most prized items in the collection displayed Wednesday is a fresco taken from the ancient city of Herculaneum, which, along with Pompeii, was destroyed with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2,000 years ago.