Painting worth £85 million seized after family 'kept it hidden from traffickers'

The discovered painting is thought to be Botticelli’s last work before his death (Picture: Soprintendenza ABAP)

A valuable painting by 15th-century master, Sandro Botticelli, has been recovered at a home in southern Italy.

Italian authorities lost track of the Renaissance masterpiece – believed to be worth £85,000,000 – more than 50 years ago.

Since then, it has been long forgotten.

Originally donated by the artist to Pope Sixtus IV, it was later housed in a church in the town of Santa Maria la Carità.

Then, a local family was entrusted to keep it at their private residence for generations.

Sandro Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ is one of the most recognisable Renaissance paintings (Picture: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

The rediscovered painting depicts Madonna and a child

It is thought Botticelli donated it to the farmhouse in the Gragnano as requested by the Pope. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church was trying to appeal to members of the prominent Medici family who owned property in the area, the Art Newspaper reports.

Italian police seize the Botticelli painting

After many thought it had been lost forever, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage traced it to a property in Gragnano, near Naples, last year.

The local Somma family who had the painting claim they kept it hidden to protect it from art traffickers, the outlet reports.

The artwork was discovered in a family home near Naples (Picture: Soprintendenza ABAP)

Nello D’Auria, the mayor of Gragnano who mediated in the recovery process, said he was contacted by Michele Somma who was ‘in tears and wanted to share a secret,’ Art Newspaper reports citing Italian outlet Il Messeggero.

He said: ‘We immediately got to work to return this painting to the experts so they could take care of it and allow it to be enjoyed by the community.’

A depiction of Madonna and a child, the painting has deteriorated, with abrasions and chromatic alterations seen all over.

It will now require major restoration.

Superintendent Mariano Nuzzo of the Carabinieri said after receiving the work: ‘It will be entrusted to the care of an Institute of the Ministry of Culture specialised in the sector of restoration of works of art in order to start a study process and valorisation of the painting.’

Botticelli’s most famous works include ‘The Birth of Venus’ and ‘Primavera’, which are displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Authorities estimate the lesser-known painting to be one of the Italian master’s last before his death at the age of 64 or 65 at around 1510.

Police are now probing the rightful ownership of the painting, which has been passed down through generations in the family.

If the family’s ownership is deemed legitimate, the masterpiece may remain with them but could be displayed in a museum for enhanced security.

If not, it will be transferred to the state. Despite being listed in the Italian state’s works of public interest, private ownership is permissible, provided the owner ensures the painting’s security, preservation, and care.

Botticelli’s work included a range of mythological and religious themes. His career took him from Florence to Rome after he was summoned by Pope Sixtus IV in 1481 to create frescos on the Sistine Chapel walls.

Some of his frescos in the chapel were destroyed to make room for Michelangelo’s work the following century.

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