Stolen during WWII, an erotic Roman mosaic returns home
A steamy piece of stolen history has finally returned to Italy, decades after its initial disappearance. According to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, national authorities and military officials spent the past two years working towards repatriating an erotic travertine tile mosaic with ancient Roman origins. Although the exact timeline remains murky, its initial theft is traceable to a Nazi captain assigned to Italy’s military supply chain during World War II. The roughly two-square-foot mosaic is estimated to originate between 100 BCE and100 CE, and depicts two half-dressed lovers—a shirtless man reclining on a couch or bed, and a barebottomed woman facing away from the viewer. Such decorative scenes were often installed into the bedroom floor of Roman homes and villas. “It is the moment when the theme of domestic love becomes an artistic subject,” park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel explained in a co-written accompanying essay, first reported by the Associated Press. “While the...