A manuscript by the French astrologer Nostradamus, stolen from a library in Rome has been returned. It was discovered when put up for sale in Germany.
Entitled Nostradamus M Prophecies, the manuscript is around 300 years old. It came to light last year when put up for sale by a German auction house.
The exact date of the theft is not known, but it’s generally thought it was in 2007. Thieves removed the manuscript, which is 500 pages long, from the historical studies centre of the Barnabite fathers of Rome.
The book passed through flea markets in Paris and the German city of Karlsruhe before an art dealer tried to sell it through an auction house in Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg. The starting price was set at €12,000 (£10,200).
Cultural Heritage Protection Squad identify Nostradamus book
In April last year, investigators from Italy’s cultural heritage protection squad came across the book on the auction house’s website. They identified it as originating from the library in Rome via a stamp dated 1991 on one of the pages.
Rome’s public prosecutor contacted his counterpart in Pforzheim, who began an investigation. German experts established the book was an original work of Nostradamus and was the one trafficked from Rome. The astrologer is also famous for his cryptic prediction of world events.
Last year, the Cultural Squad repatriated about 200 antiquities, including an ancient Roman sculpture.
