More than 80 contemporary works of art confiscated from the Italian mafia, including by Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol, went on display in Milan. “Works destined to remain buried in the networks of organized crime are finally returned to the community, taking on a symbolic role as resistance to crime,” said Maria Rosaria Lagana, head of the national agency for administering the assets. The agency organizes auctions of some goods seized by the Italian courts, which include Ferrari cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Houses, apartments and agricultural land meanwhile are allocated free of charge to public bodies and non-profit organizations. But some of the art that graced the mobsters’ walls has been made public as part of the “SalvArti” exhibition. “These are goods that obviously could have been sold, but it was decided to keep them in museums, because they are of significant value,” Lagana told AFP.

This photograph shows a sculpture (cenetr) titled "Disco-Con Sfera" (Disk with sphere) by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.

A visitor takes pictures of an illustration for Romeo and Juliet by Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

A woman walks past a painting titled "Segreto" by Italian artist Gianni Dessi.

A woman looks at a painting entitled "Tekening" by Belgian artist Jan Van Oost (center) during a press preview of the exhibition titled "SalvArti, from Confiscations to Public Collections" at Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy.--AFP photos

A woman looks at paintings titled "Piazza d’Italia" by Giorgio De Chirico and "Capanno sulla Riva" by Carlo Carra.

A visitor takes a photograph of a painting titled "Concetto Spaziale-Attese" (Spatial Concept) by Argentinian artist Lucio Fontana.

This photograph shows a sculpture (cenetr) titled "Disco-Con Sfera" (Disk with sphere) by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.

A visitor takes pictures of an illustration for Romeo and Juliet by Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

A woman walks past a painting titled "Segreto" by Italian artist Gianni Dessi.

A woman looks at a painting entitled "Tekening" by Belgian artist Jan Van Oost (center) during a press preview of the exhibition titled "SalvArti, from Confiscations to Public Collections" at Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy.--AFP photos

A woman looks at paintings titled "Piazza d’Italia" by Giorgio De Chirico and "Capanno sulla Riva" by Carlo Carra.

A visitor takes a photograph of a painting titled "Concetto Spaziale-Attese" (Spatial Concept) by Argentinian artist Lucio Fontana.

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More than 20 of the works at Milan’s Palazzo Reale were confiscated in 2016 from a boss of the powerful ‘Ndrangheta mafia, based in the southern region of Calabria. They include a lithograph of “Romeo and Juliet” by surrealist Spanish painter Dali, located in a room dedicated to works seized by a court in the Calabrian capital Reggio Calabria. Nearby is “Piazza d’Italia”, a gorgeous oil on canvas by Italian master Giorgio de Chirico.

Around 60 other works come from a seizure ordered by a Rome court in 2013 over a giant fraud linked to an international money laundering network. These include a screen print by pop artist Warhol entitled “Summer Arts in the Parks” and a “Wrapped Venus” lithograph by Christo. The exhibition also features press cuttings and videos of police seizing the works, which are used as currency in drugs and arms trafficking.

Lagana said the aim was to highlight the “insidiousness of the mafia scourge” while promoting culture. “It’s a rebirth for these works. It is a bit like digging them out of the earth, like archaeologists, and putting them on display where everyone can see them,” she said. The exhibition, which is free to visit, runs until January 26 in Milan before being transferred to Reggio Calabria from February 8 to April 27.—AFP