Spanish
Italian justice has opened an investigation this Tuesday into the tenant of the historic Antico Caffè Greco in Rome, considered one of the oldest cafes in the world, for removing numerous pieces from the premises without authorization, including paintings, sculptures and 18th-century furniture.
The café, founded in 1760, housed paintings, sculptures, and objects of great historical value, many of them protected by Italian law as they had been declared of cultural interest and which the manager of the establishment had allegedly moved without permission.
Specifically, these are goods "subject to cultural protection and declared of particularly important cultural interest," explained the carabinieri (Italian militarized police) in a statement this Tuesday.
Italian police seized the objects this Tuesday to carry out a new inventory and keep them in custody "in secure deposits" until they can return to their original location.
The investigating judge also ordered the preventive seizure of some of the objects, considering that there was a "risk of dispersal or destruction" of goods that, by law, cannot be separated from the original property given their historical status, local media reported.
For years, the managers of the café and the owners of the building, the Ospedale Israelitico, owner of the historic premises on the elegant Via dei Condotti, a few steps from the Spanish Steps, have been engaged in a tough legal battle.
The lease expired in 2017 and the hospital has since demanded the return of the property after negotiations to renew the contract with a rent increase failed.
After 7 years of litigation, the Italian Supreme Court ruled in favor of the owners and ordered the definitive eviction of the premises.
However, more than a year after the ruling, the eviction has still not been carried out and the most recent attempts, the last one this Monday, have ended up postponed.
The new hearing date was set for November 26, and the next execution attempt is expected in December.
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The historic cafe, famous for its red velvet-decorated salons and now closed, is located in Rome's so-called "luxury quadrilateral" and shares a sidewalk with luxury brands like Cartier and Bvlgari. The two parties in dispute claim to want to protect the cultural heritage, although economic and legal interests remain at odds, and in the meantime, uncertainty grows among the workers who insist that 600 jobs are in danger.
