Allies of Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni have condemned the return of a Renaissance masterpiece to Slovenia, calling it a betrayal of Istrian exiles. The Carpaccio altarpiece has been in the Basilica of Sant’Antonio in Padua since 1943.
The work, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Six Saints (1518) by Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, was handed back to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Piran on 4 September. The town lies on the Adriatic coast in an area once part of Italy but now divided between Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.
The painting, which depicts the Virgin and Child surrounded by saints and angels, was created for the church more than 500 years ago. It was removed in 1940 when Istria fell entirely within Italy’s borders and later stored for safekeeping during the Second World War. From 1943, it was kept at the Basilica of Sant’Antonio in Padua, where it remained until last week.
The return came days before Italian president Sergio Mattarella began a two-day state visit to Slovenia.
Right-wing politicians have described the move as a slight to the memory of 350,000 Italians who fled Istria and Dalmatia in the late 1940s to escape persecution under Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.
“These works were legitimately moved from Italy inside the Italian territory to preserve them, and they remain part of Italian heritage,” said Brothers of Italy senator Roberto Menia, a descendant of Istrian exiles. He accused Slovenia of claiming “something that was never its own.”
Franciscan friars backed decision
Anna Maria Cisint, a League MEP, warned in a letter to Mattarella that exiles felt “pain and a sense of loss” over the decision. Alessandro Urzì, another Brothers of Italy politician, said calling the transfer a “restitution” was “fundamentally incorrect.”
Slovenia’s culture minister Asta Vrečko welcomed the return, saying it would allow visitors to see the masterpiece “in its authentic setting” after 85 years.
The Franciscan friars of Padua, who backed the decision, said the basilica had been a natural custodian but the return was “an important act.” The Carpaccio altarpiece will be installed in Piran’s church on 27 December, once restoration is complete.
