Carabinieri Tpc return a precious violin stolen from the Conservatory of Palermo

The precious ‘Giuseppe Rocca’ violin from 1861 stolen at the end of the 90s returns to the ‘Alessandro Scarlatti’ Conservatory in Palermo. The instrument was returned today by the Commander of the Nucleo for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Tpc) of Palermo, Major Gianluigi Marmora, to the director of the Conservatory, Daniele Ficola, during a ceremony that took place in the presence of various authorities, including which the president of the Conservatory, Mario Barbagallo, the curator of the Musical Instruments Section of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Giovanni Paolo Di Stefano, and the director of the Pietro Mascagni Institute of Music in Livorno, Renato Meucci. The violin was part of a group of ancient instruments stolen from the Conservatory of Palermo in the late 90s and was one of the most important pieces for its high historical-artistic and economic value, with a valuation of around 350,000 euros. The report of the theft was presented in 2012 by the director of the Conservatory and started a complex investigative activity, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Palermo. The lengthy investigations allowed the partial reconstruction of the phases following the theft, crystallizing a sale between private individuals which took place in 2007 in Germany: the consequent international rogatory, advanced with the involvement of the Tpc Operational Department, however, did not have a positive outcome. however, the investigative activity brought the desired effects, since – after an extensive evaluation – the precious musical instrument was seized, on the occasion of the temporary stay in Palermo of a violinist who held it for professional purposes. In 2022, after several legal disputes, it was ordered to confiscate it and return it to the Music Conservatory of Palermo, following the technical investigations and investigations carried out by international experts in the sector, who confirmed that the violin was precisely the one stolen. The Giuseppe Rocca violin of 1861, together with the collection of all the other ancient instruments owned by the aforementioned Conservatory, being an instrument owned by the State dating back to 1861, is among the assets protected by the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape. It is certainly one of the most valuable musical instruments ever, presenting a fine soundboard in spruce made in a single piece, with progressively narrower grain from left to right and the back made of a single piece of maple, with a significant horizontal flaming. . The musical instrument bears several ancient paper labels, glued to the internal surface of the back, with the inscriptions “Joseph Rocca fecit / Awarded with medal at the Turin, Genoa, London and Paris Expositions / Taurini anno Domini 1861”, “Violin Giuseppe Rocca repaired / in Palermo in the year 1896 by A. Sgarbi “, as well as the old inventory number” RCM n. 165 “. The operation, the result of coordination between the Judicial Authority of Palermo and the Arma dei Carabinieri, and in particular of the Tpc Unit of Palermo, made it possible to return the precious instrument to the community. “The first important thing I did, after my inauguration as director in 2012, was to report the disappearance of a large number of important historical instruments owned by the Conservatory – says the director Ficola – Today thanks to the great commitment and constant determination of the Nucleo Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection of Palermo, together with the help of my fellow organologists, a large part of this heritage was found. In particular, this morning, the precious violin made by Giuseppe Rocca, one of the greatest Italian luthiers of the nineteenth century, the most important instrument among those stolen. “” Thanks to the Carabinieri and, in particular, to the Carabinieri Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale of Palermo – underlines Barbagallo – Their brilliant investigative activity has allowed us to return to possession of a precious heritage, which testifies to the important history of our Conservatory a security system to prevent episodes of this kind from happening again ”, concludes the president of the Palermo Conservatory.